Entanglement as a Strategic Resource in Adversarial Quantum Games

Abstract: Quantum game theory naturally extends classical strategic decision-making by leveraging quantum superposition, entanglement, and measurement-based pay offs. This paper introduces a novel team-based Quantum Sabotage Game (QSG), where two competing teams, one classical and one quantum-enhanced, engage in adversarial strategies. Unlike classical models, quantum teams can capitalize on entanglement-assisted coordination, enabling correlated sabotage actions that provide a decisive edge in unpredictability and strategic deception. We establish a formal quantum game-theoretic model and derive the Quantum Nash Equilib rium (QNE) conditions for multi-agent interactions. Our approach uses computa tional simulations to directly compare classical and quantum strategic efficiency under ideal conditions, standard quantum noise models, and noise profiles calibrated from real IBM Quantum hardware. Our analysis specifically com pares teams of equivalent size: two-player classical (2C) versus Bell-state (2Q) teams, and three-player classical (3C) versus W-state (3Q) teams. Our results indicate that W-state entanglement significantly enhances both defensive coordi nation and sabotage effectiveness, consistently outperforming standard classical strategies and Bell-state coordination schemes. This quantum advantage is shown to be resilient, persisting even when subjected to realistic hardware noise models. These findings have direct implications for quantum-enhanced cybersecu rity, adversarial artificial intelligence, and multi-agent quantum decision-making, thereby paving the way for practical applications of quantum game theory in competitive environments