The Distributed Kolkata Paise Restaurant Game

Abstract

The Kolkata Paise Restaurant Problem is a challenging game in which n agents decide where to have lunch during their break. The game is not trivial because there are exactly n restaurants, and each restaurant can accommodate only one agent. We study this problem from a new angle and propose a novel strategy that results in greater utilization. Adopting a spatially distributed approach where the restaurants are uniformly distributed in the entire city area makes it possible for every agent to visit multiple restaurants. For each agent, the situation resembles that of the iconic traveling salesman, who must compute an optimal route through n cities. We rigorously prove probabilistic formulas that confirm the advantages of this policy and the increase in utilization. The derived equations generalize formulas that were previously known in the literature, which can be seen as special cases of our results.