The chicken game, also called the hawk-dove or snowdrift game, is a two-player game in which each player chooses whether to yield or persist. Each prefers that the opponent yield, but the outcome in which neither yields is worst for both. A player prefers persistence when the opponent yields and prefers yielding when the opponent persists (Osborne and Rubinstein 1994, pp. 16-17).
The game has two asymmetric pure-strategy Nash equilibria, in each of which exactly one player yields, and a mixed-strategy Nash equilibrium. Unlike the prisoner's dilemma, neither player always prefers persistence regardless of the opponent's choice.
