You might think that Game Theory would be the name of the comic where training & readiness reports were used to make tabletop RPG character sheets. But not only did I prefer the title “Troopers & Trolls” for that, but the concept of “Game Theory” more accurately portrays Jensen’s line of thought here.

Game Theory is when you try to “game out” or hypothesize a better reward in the future by forgoing a lesser reward that is available right now. In Jensen’s case, she could have parked in a spot that didn’t get her chewed out and placed on a frivolous, punitive guard duty… or she can “roll the dice” and park in an area that she knows will bring attention, and potentially get out of a more onerous chore later.

If you know that “Conex cleaning” is on the schedule for that day, the reward may be worth the risk. I covered Conex cleaning before. “Conex” stands for “Container Express” and it is the catch-all term for the big walk-in metal storage boxes that are used all over the world and easily transportable by truck, train, or ship.

Military units use these as standard storage units on bases around the world and they tend to collect a variety of items, with castoff junk being thoroughly mixed in with mission-necessary equipment. Cleaning and organizing them can be a tiresome chore. Compared to that, standing like an idiot guarding a parking spot might be a worthwhile trade-off.