When 1+1 does not equal 2: Synergy in games

TL;DR

This paper provides a clear definition of synergy in games and introduces a methodology to analyze it, demonstrated through applications to Chess, League of Legends, and Magic: The Gathering.

Contribution

It offers a novel, precise definition of synergy and a methodology for analyzing it in various games, addressing a longstanding conceptual vagueness.

Findings

Defined synergy rigorously for the first time

Developed a methodology to analyze synergy in games

Applied the approach to multiple popular games

Abstract

Although synergy is an important concept that is strongly ingrained in games, it has not been widely discussed by the games community. This is due to the vagueness of the concept and the fact that there is no clear agreement on what it means. To solve this, we present a strict definition of what is synergy. Then we propose a methodology to use this definition to analyze synergy in games. Applying this definition to various games (Chess, League of Legends, and Magic: The Gathering), we illustrate how it can be used to solve many of the practical problems related to synergy.