# Language-based Games

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/1310.6408 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/1310.6408/

## Key facts

- Cited by 2 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 23 Oct 2013.

## Built on by (most cited first, 2 of 2)

- [Social physics in the age of artificial intelligence](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2603.16900/) (2026)
- [From Outcome-Based to Language-Based Preferences](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2206.07300/) (2022)

## Abstract (arXiv)

We introduce language-based games, a generalization of psychological games [6] that can also capture reference-dependent preferences [7]. The idea is to extend the domain of the utility function to situations, maximal consistent sets in some language. The role of the underlying language in this framework is thus particularly critical. Of special interest are languages that can express only coarse beliefs [9]. Despite the expressive power of the approach, we show that it can describe games in a simple, natural way. Nash equilibrium and rationalizability are generalized to this setting; Nash equilibrium is shown not to exist in general, while the existence of rationalizable strategies is proved under mild conditions.