A Formula for Designing Zero-Determinant Strategies

Abstract: A formula is presented for designing zero-determinant(ZD) strategies of general finite games, which have $n$ players and players can have different numbers of strategies. To this end, using semi-tensor product (STP) of matrices, the profile evolutionary equation for repeated finite games is obtained. Starting from it, the ZD strategies are developed for general finite games, based on the same technique proposed by Press and Dyson \cite{pre12}. A formula is obtain to design ZD strategies for any player directly, ignoring the original ZD design process. Necessary and sufficient condition is obtained to ensure the effectiveness of the designed ZD strategies. As a consequence, it is also clear that player $i$ is able to unilaterally design $|S_i|-1$ dominating linear relations about the expected payoffs of all players. Finally, the fictitious opponent player is proposed for networked evolutionary networks (NEGs). Using it, the ZD-strategies are applied to NEGs. It is surprising that an individual in a network may use ZD strategies to conflict the whole rest network.