Five pirates discover a chest full of 100 gold coins. The pirates are ranked by their ages. Pirate 5 is 50 years old, Pirate 4 is 49, and so on down to Pirate 1. To divide up the loot, they agree on the following:
The most senior pirate will propose a distribution of the booty. All pirates will then vote, including the most senior pirate, and if at least 50% of the pirates on board accept the proposal, the gold is divided as proposed. If not, the most senior pirate is murdered. Then the process starts over with the next most senior pirate until a plan is approved.
All Pirates are equally intelligent and selfish. Their preference is first to remain alive, and next to get as much gold as possible and finally, if given a choice between otherwise equal outcomes, to have fewer pirates on the boat.
Assume you are the senior most pirate in the group. Come up with a plan that maximizes your gold, and others will accept. How will you divide the coins? Can you generalize ..