[georgeglue1]

Matt Jackson is one of the most respected game theorists at probably the best game theory department in the US.

His goal is just pretty different. He's presenting the mathematical / intuitive foundation that underly more advanced models (probably for the purposes of academic classes).

A lot of commonly understood stuff you mention (like reputation) is hard to define in the rational math of game theory, especially when you start layering real-world complexity like incomplete information.

See Kreps Milgrom Roberts Wilson (1981) for a fun example from two recent Nobel Prize winners on how hard this gets (and why it's useful to understand Matt Jackson's intro if you want to get into academic / theory stuff) https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0022053182...