Card games are useful for laboratory research on how people make judgments and decisions under uncertainty. Unlike the static questions used in some research, dynamic card games force players to deal with a time changing environment that more closely resembles the real world. And unlike checkers or chess or other games of "perfect information", players in poker and other card games must make inferences about the game state itself (who has what cards?) as well as the actions that their opponents are likely to take. With only "imperfect information" about the game state and with the need to form "mental models" of their opponents' strategies, card games are much like the decision dilemmas that people deal with in real life.

Our research began using a family of games played with a special deck of double-sided cards, called TRACS. Details on this research can be found here. The TRACS games include three solitaire games in a suite called the TRACS Arcade, as well as three gambling games in a suite called the TRACS Casino. Demo versions can be played by clicking the links below:

Arcade

Casino

Our research has now shifted to a new family of games called Pared-down Poker. Details on this research can be found here. Pared-down Poker is a suite of four games ranging from very simple to rather complex. Demo versions can be played by clicking the icon below.