Truel

Three way duel
the ultramarathon runner

Truel and triel are neologisms for a duel between three opponents, in which players can fire at one another in an attempt to eliminate them while surviving themselves.

A variety of forms of truels have been studied in game theory. Features that determine the nature of a truel include

There is usually a general assumption that each player in the truel wants to be the only survivor, and will behave logically in a manner that maximizes the probability of this. This duel is more of a circular affair, with the first participant aiming only for the second, the second participant aiming only for the third, and the third participant aiming only at the first. A later mention of three person "duels" is A. P. Herbert's play Fat King Melon (1927). An extensive bibliography has been compiled by D. Marc Kilgour. The word "truel" was introduced in Martin Shubik's 1964 book Game Theory and Related Approaches to Social Behavior, page 43, and independently in Richard Epstein's 1967 book Theory of Gambling and Statistical Logic, page 343.

In one of the most famous spaghetti westerns, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, the final showdown is played out to be a climactic truel among the three main characters: Blondie ("The Good"), Angel Eyes ("The Bad"), and Tuco ("The Ugly"). The standoff remains a signature piece for director Sergio Leone and one of the best known scenes in film history. The climactic ending to the 1987 film City on Fire features a truel which is interrupted by the arrival of police. The 1992 film Reservoir Dogs has a very similar confrontation among the characters Mr. White, Nice Guy Eddie, and Joe Cabot, in which only one survives. The truel is also parodied at the climax of the film The Good, the Bad, the Weird. A truel with swords is fought among Jack Sparrow, Will Turner, and James Norrington in the 2006 film Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest; all three characters survive. The short film Truel explores the idea of a three way duel. In the novel and movie A Dog's Will, a truel is one of João Grilo's plans. In an episode of the hit show The Office, Michael convinces everyone to play a board game similar to Clue. The episode ends with Michael, Andy, and Dwight in a finger truel. The film Tekken Blood Vengeance also features a truel during the climax where Jin Kazama, Kazuya Mishima and Heihachi Mishima fought each other in a three way duel.