Learning to Make Optimal Use of A Private Farm

Web Page for playing the precursor to the Tragedy of the Commons Game.

You have a 5 acre farm on which you can put as many cows as you want. Being new to farming, you have to figure out the optimal number of cows to put on your farm so that you maximize your profits, measured by how much milk you sell at market. So, pick a number of cows, then press submit, and see how you do. Good luck and enjoy!

Some facts to remember:

1. Cows cost $100 each.
2. Your profits will be determined by how much milk your cows provide by the end of the year. That will depend on how many cows you put on the commons, but unlike the commons case, not on how many cows other ranchers put on their farms.
3. You CAN lose money, since your cows cost $100 each. If the farm is seriously overgrazed, your cows will die.

A strategy for optimizing profits:

1. In round 1, submit any number of cows and see what your profits are.
2. In round 2, submit a higher number of cows.
3. In all subsequent rounds:
   1. If profits in the current round were higher than in the previous round, submit more cows.
   2. If profits in the current round were lower than in the previous round, submit fewer cows.
4. The program will let you know when you have chosen the optimum number of cows and have maximized your profits.

Play Game Here

There is a multi-person Tragedy of the Commons game that I have established to be played simultaneously by students in a class. If you are interested in finding out more, please read more about it on the main Tragedy of the Commons page.