ConG: Continuous-Time Games for Experimental Economics.

ConG is a suite of programs for running experiments with human subjects who interact strategically in real time. It uses graphics intensively to create a variety of strategic environments, and allows subjects to continuously change and adapt their strategies. ConG permits several different ways to specify payoff functions, including arbitrary symmetric bimatrix games. Innovative strategy selectors optionally display a wide variety of information in a compact manner. Finally, ConG has support for running games in both continuous and discrete time, allowing a direct comparison between the two treatments.

ConG is developed by the LEEPS Lab, and funded through NSF grant SES-0925039. It is easy to use for experimenters as well as subjects. Experimenters write specifications in a human editable CSV file, loadable in any spreadsheet editor. No installation is required, and a demo experiment can be launched within minutes. We invite you to try it for yourself, to download the current version, and run some of the examples below. Then you will be prepared to design and run your own experiment.

	You will need to e-mail leeps@ucsc.edu to receive a download password.
	System Requirements and User License and Citation Info.

Demo Experiments with ConG

The following are test experiments we invite you to run on a single (non-networked) computer. With these examples we hope to give you a feel for how ConG client and control windows work, and how the config CSV files change the experiment.

• Public Goods Game (Voluntary Contribution Mechanism) - A simple public goods game under various experimental configurations: CHAT-window communication, "canned-response" communication and no communication. Discrete time options, and of course continuous time.
• Prisoner's Dilemma - "A Continuous Dilemma" - 2x2 Bi-Matrix Game, Heat Map, Continuous & Discrete Time Treatments.
• Hawk Dove - "Separating the Hawks from the Doves" 2x2 Matrix Payoffs - Pure & Mixed Strategies - Heat-Map - Group Size & Population Matching.

Config Files & ConG

• Config Files & ConG

Running ConG in Your Lab

• Production Deployment

Payoff Functions

A Payoff Function is a mapping between subject's strategy set and their payoff. ConG currently supports the tractable configuration of the following payoff functions. Additional payoff function & the the easy ability to script arbitrary payoff functions are in development.

• "matrix2x2" Two Strategy (Bimatrix) - two-by-two symmetric game.
• Sum - Public Goods, Cournot - games in which subjects payoffs are a function on one's own strategy, and the strategy sum of other player's strategy.
• Payoff Functions to Come:
  • Min, Bertrand Pricing - coming this spring.
  • 3x3 Matrix, Rock-Paper-Scissors - spring 2012.
  • Scripted Payoff Functions - very soon.
  • and more...

Selectors

A Selector is the interface for an experiment. Each selector allows the subjects to change their strategy and receive information about the game state. Different experiments lend themselves to using particular selectors, while other selectors for a given experiment are illogical. Below is a list of all the selectors available, and the experiments which commonly use them. The following names are the exact names required in the configuration file in the selector column. These names must be exactly as they are here, or errors will occur.

• heatmap2d - Strategy chosen with heatmap. Strategy displayed in Y-axis, competing group strategy in X-axis. Payoffs displayed by "heat".
• bubbles - Strategy chosen by clicking along the x/y axis. Current payoff is the height of the your dot along the y axis.
• pure - Strategy chosen with radio buttons. Payoffs displayed in a matrix next to the selector.

Time Modes & Settings

• Continuous vs Discrete - a discussion of how ConG treats discrete and continuous games at an architectural level.
• Indefinite End - in development.

Additional Configuration Options

• Grouping - configuring groups in your experiment.
• Communication - options for Chat during your experiment.
• Instantaneous & Delayed Strategy Change Options - control over how quickly a subject's new strategy selection is implemented.

Misc

• Tricky Config File Fields - list of, and detailed explanation of tricky config CSV file fields.
• ConG User License & Citation Info - Users of ConG must submit to our license, and cite the Working Paper.
• Experimental Output - ConG experiments produce tick-data-logs. View examples of this output and simple econometrics.
• Agents - pre-experiment stress testing of your config.
• Selector-PayoffFunction_Compatibility
• PayoutTable?

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System Requirements

See our page on System_Requirements

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Download CONG

• Download Version 0.1.1

A pop-up window should appear to prompt you for a username and password. For now please email us at leeps@… for a password and we will contact you.

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