What Is a Zero-Sum Game?

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

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.

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

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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.

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