[EricH]

Originally Posted by seg9585

I drove the team to do this human-robot activity a couple years ago and the kids thought it was silly and a waste of time, and it's been difficult for me to convince them of its value.

Might be a difference between your kids and the kids I was with, but having that simulated game session can show some "things to consider" that might not be all that obvious just by doing analysis. OTOH, the analysis can come up with some things that playing the game doesn't have.

If I might make a suggestion... Do the analysis for several strategies, then play a couple of rounds pitting one strategy against another, say 3 rounds with similar strategies. (Simulate, you know, Einstein or something like that. ) Might be a couple of unrealistic assumptions in one or the other strategy. Then go back into analysis for a bit-- "There's a hole here, which can ruin the strategy. Any ideas to fill it?" And, of course, leave the "how" out of it.