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In combinatorial game theory, a cold game is a position with no gain from taking the next move, as illustrated by number games. For $G=\{0\mid 1\}=1/2$, Left can only lower the value to zero, while Right can only raise it to one; either player would prefer to leave the position untouched if another component offered a useful move.

This contrasts with a hot position such as $\{1\mid -1\}$, where either player benefits from moving first. The distinction matters when choosing which component of a disjunctive sum to play. Exact definitions at zero temperature depend on the adopted cooling convention; a cold numerical component need not be a losing position by itself.