Evolutionary games of cooperation: Insights through integration of theory and data

•Evolutionary games have been used extensively to investigate cooperation.•Advances have been numerous and provided by both empirical and theoretical studies.•We outline some common games and review some major findings and recent advancements.•We show how linking data and theory has been key to understanding cooperation.

Cooperation is central to the regulation of many ecological processes and the persistence of ecosystems and their associated functions. However, the evolution of cooperation amongst non-kin appears paradoxical. Games such as the prisoner's dilemma, snowdrift and stag hunt have been borrowed from game theory and used extensively to investigate cooperation. Advances in this area have been numerous and have been provided by both empirical and theoretical studies. We outline some of the common games used and review some of the major findings and recent advancements made in this area. We show a clear link between data and theory, and how this link has been key to our understanding of cooperation.