Research with experimental games: questioning practice and interpretation

Experimental methods in general, and games in particular, are increasingly significant in development economics, but have had rather a limited and partial engagement with anthropology. Given the multidisciplinary character of development studies, it is timely to consider the potential of experimental games for multi-methods development research. Here I give a brief account of experimental economics and key games, for newcomers, followed by a critical discussion of the game methods as applied in a large and influential set of cross-cultural studies by (predominantly) anthropologists working with evolutionist paradigms. I conclude with a wider reflection on core assumptions in the experimental approach which need re-thinking from a broader base in social theory.