What Is a Zero-Sum Game?

By Jeremy Bowman – Updated Nov 15, 2025 at 4:20 PM EST

Key Points

Zero-sum games mean one party's gain is another's loss, key in options and derivatives trading.
Non-zero-sum scenarios allow mutual benefits, enhancing strategies in expanding markets.
Understanding zero-sum dynamics aids better investment choices and personal decision-making.

A zero-sum game is a conceptual framework to describe a competition where one party’s gains come at the expense of another party. It’s a metaphor that is often used in business to describe a battle over market share between two companies or when one decision counteracts another due to trade-offs. It can also describe a personal or relationship dilemma where the benefit of one decision is erased by its costs.

Loading paragraph...

a graphic defining the term zero sum game — Image source: The Motley Fool

Loading image...

Loading paragraph...

Game Theory

The mathematical study of strategy and decision making where multiple players make choices that affect each other's outcomes.

Loading paragraph...

How to Buy Cava Stock (CAVA) and What Investors Should Know Before They Do

The Mediterranean restaurant chain completed its IPO in mid-June 2023. Here's what you need to know to place an order.

What Is a Hedge Fund?

When wealthy investors put their money together to beat the market.

Average Roth IRA Returns

What are the average Roth IRA returns and how do you make the most of them?

How to Calculate Total Stock Returns

Total returns can help compare the performance of investments that pay different dividend yields.

Loading hub_pages...

Loading paragraph...

About the Author

Jeremy Bowman has been a contributing Motley Fool stock market analyst, covering technology, consumer goods, and macroeconomic trends since 2011. Before The Motley Fool, Jeremy was a newspaper reporter, restaurant manager, and English teacher abroad. He holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Colorado College and a master’s degree in business administration from American University. One of his Motley Fool headlines was briefly featured on Late Night with Stephen Colbert.

TMFHobo

@TMFBowman

The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.