When 1+1 does not equal 2: Synergy in games

Joshua Kritz; Raluca Gaina

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arXiv · 2502.10304

When 1+1 does not equal 2: Synergy in games

Joshua Kritz·Raluca Gaina

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Abstract

Although synergy is an important concept that is strongly ingrained in games, it has not been widely discussed by the games community. This is due to the vagueness of the concept and the fact that there is no clear agreement on what it means. To solve this, we present a strict definition of what is synergy. Then we propose a methodology to use this definition to analyze synergy in games. Applying this definition to various games (Chess, League of Legends, and Magic: The Gathering), we illustrate how it can be used to solve many of the practical problems related to synergy.

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BibTeX RIS

Joshua Kritz, Raluca Gaina. 2025-02-14. When 1+1 does not equal 2: Synergy in games. https://arxiv.org/abs/2502.10304

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