the deliciousness you want.

But if you go in without a strategy,

you're going to get ripped off.

I'm going to show you how to get your money's worth

and how to defeat the evil buffet master

as depicted by my 6-year-old.

[music playing]

An all you can eat buffet is basically

a game with winners and losers.

Joining me now to show us the path to victory

is Dr. Teigen Wall.

She's an expert in neuroscience and game theory.

So Teigen, what kind of game is a buffet?

Well Dan, a buffet is a competitive game.

But it's also what's called a zero-sum game,

which means if one side is winning,

the other side has to be losing.

Both sides can end up better off.

And in this case, the two sides

are us, the eaters of the world, and our enemy,

the evil buffet master.

You mean your local restaurant owner?

OK.

We've set up a real buffet here in our lab.

Let's see what the research assistants are doing.

Right off the bat, I'm worried about Angela's technique here.

This area is what I call the buffet master's booby trap.

He's going to load up this area with cheap filler.

Trying to fill your plate and your stomach before you

get to his crown jewels.

Teigen, what are you seeing here?

Well, with a buffet like this, you

definitely have to be worried about what's

called the paradox of choice.

Where having more options makes you less happy

than having fewer options.

What's the solution to that?

Go for the things you know you want first,

and then take a survey for the things

you might also like second.

And if the thing you really want

is rolls and iceberg lettuce that's fine,

but maybe you shouldn't be paying

for an all you can eat buffet.

Let's see how Isaac down here is doing.

I liked that he made it past the booby trap with a clean plate.

And I also like that his eyes are scanning the entire buffet

scoping out all the options.

Good work, Isaac.

Katie's taken a very small amount of many different items.

A sampler plate to start.

That's a great strategy.

Then on the second helping, you go in for the kill on the items

that you like the best.

One thing that even Katie has to watch out for though

is called the framing effect.

See, they've put the meat and the potatoes together.

And because you associate the two,

you're more likely to fill up on the potatoes

even though they're cheap filler.

You know Teigen, one issue at buffets

is how do you get seconds without waiting in line again?

Especially if you only want a little bit of a prized morsel

where there's a big crowd?

I have a movie call, the hummingbird technique.

Find a gap in the line, hover, and dart.

Well Teigen, we vanquished the evil buffet master.

Victory never tasted so good.

It comes with cake.

Yeah.

High five.

Check out my podcast.

It's called, "The Sporkful."

Subscribe today.