Jain, ShailiParkes, David2010-04-282008Jain, Shaili, and David C. Parkes. 2008. A game-theoretic analysis of games with a purpose. In Internet and Network Economics, ed. C. H Papadimitriou, S. Zhang, 342-350. Berlin: Springer. Previously published in Lecture Notes in Computer Science 5385: 342-350.978-3-540-92184-40302-9743http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:4000812We present a simple game-theoretic model for the ESP game, an interactive game devised to label images on the web, and characterize the equilibrium behavior of the model. We show that a simple change in the incentive structure can lead to different equilibrium structure and suggest the possibility of formal incentive design in achieving desirable system-wide outcomes, complementing existing considerations of robustness against cheating and human factors.en-USMonograph or Book2010-04-2810.1007/978-3-540-92185-1_40