ABSTRACT
In recent years much heat and controversy has been generated about the purposes and usefulness of experimental games. Formalized analogies or models have sometimes led to important theoretical advances in science; then the model is incorporated into the language of more general theories. That is, a successful model is one that is superseded by a more general scientific theory. Much of the skepticism directed at experimental games derives from a confusion between games and partial simulations of internation behaviors, where parameters and functions are programmed on a computer, and individuals are asked to act as national decision makers. Many social scientists who use games as research tools are action-oriented and use their research results as propaganda in support of their value commitments. Science itself may be viewed as a game whose goal is to develop true theories. Each player must abide by a set of rules on the logical and empirical evaluation of theories.
