Goofspiel
card game

Goofspiel (also known as The Game of Pure Strategy, GOPS or Psychological Jujitsu) is a card game for two or more players. It was invented by Merrill Flood while at Princeton University in the 1930s, and Alex Randolph describes a similar game as having been popular with the 5th Indian Army during the Second World War.
The game is simple to learn and play, but has some degree of strategic depth. It is commonly used as an example of multi-stage simultaneous move game in game theory and artificial intelligence.
Game play
Goofspiel is played with a standard deck of cards. It is typically a two-player game, although more players are possible.
One suit is singled out as the "prizes"; each of the remaining suits becomes a hand for one player, with one suit discarded if there are only two players, or taken from additional decks if there are four or more. The prizes are shuffled and placed between the players with one card turned up.
Play proceeds in a series of rounds. The players make sealed bids for the face-up prize card by selecting a card from their hand (keeping their choice secret from their opponent).
The public source identifies “Goofspiel” as card game. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Goofspiel, card and game.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Goofspiel”, the useful work is to connect “card game” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 7, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q5583780. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Goofspiel”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Goofspiel primary sources, Goofspiel archive and Goofspiel research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Goofspiel”?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Goofspiel” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.