The Noodle Agreement

[wolfgang42]

I'd just like to point out that this is a form of iterated prisoner's dilemma.

Within a match, you can see what the other alliance is doing and react accordingly. The optimal strategy is therefore tit-for-tat: Put a noodle in, wait for the other side to put one in, and then alternate. This guarantees that you can't lose more than 4 points.

In the larger context of the event, it turns into a multi-player iterated prisoner's dilemma. I don't know what the optimal strategy is, but I would anticipate that teams will only agree to the Noodle Agreement with other teams who have not defected in the past; thus, if a team wishes to continue benefiting from the Noodle Agreement it is in their best interest to not defect. (Obviously this depends on the news of the defection getting around; if the NA becomes an important strategy this is likely to happen.)