The pur­po­se of the simu­la­ti­on game "Play­ing poli­tics" is to show prac­ti­cal impli­ca­ti­ons of ratio­nal choice and game theo­ry. Poli­tics are cal­cu­la­ted and cal­cu­la­ting inter­ac­tions bet­ween self-inte­res­ted poli­ti­cal actors – indi­vi­du­als, poli­ti­ci­ans, poli­ti­cal par­ties, pres­su­re groups, natio­nal govern­ments, and alli­ances of count­ries. The simu­la­ti­on game pres­ents poli­ti­cal action as simp­le games, dis­clo­sing imper­fec­tions and dilem­ma­ta, and explo­ring com­ple­xi­ty of the "real" world in a playful atmosphere.