The role of games and puzzles in OR/MS education

Games and puzzles have obvious educational content and it is therefore not surprising that they have been used as educational resources for many generations. Mathematics is a well-known discipline where games and puzzles are widely recognized and appreciated not only for their social value but also for their rich educational content. This paper examines the role that games and puzzles can play in operations research (OR) and management science (MS) education. The discussion focuses on the educational content of games and puzzles that is relevant to basic concepts, principles and paradigms commonly studied in introductory OR/MS courses. A typical example is the potential contribution of games and puzzles to the teaching of the concept worst case scenario and its role in decision making under uncertainty . We also argue that OR/MS can establish itself as a major provider of methods and techniques for the solution of games and puzzles.