Your instructor challenges you to solve this classic economics thought experiment called the stag hunt: Suppose you and a hunting partner are hunting for food to feed your families in a post-apocalyptic world with no stores, farms, or trade. You lay a trap for a deer that will provide a large number of calories for your two families to continue to survive. While waiting, you both spot a hare running through the trap. If you chase after the hare, you’ll catch it but you will scare any wildlife in the area and you won’t catch the deer you were waiting for. The hare only provides a small amount of calories for your own family and none for your partner’s family. Would you chase after the hare or keep waiting for the stag?

Create a payoff matrix that illustrates this example. You can use whatever values you want as long as they align with the outcomes described above. Use the four steps and the check mark method to determine the best possible responses for you and your partner. Which would you choose and why?