Plateaux formation, abrupt transitions, and fractional states in a   competitive population with limited resources
  We study, both numerically and analytically, a Binary-Agent-Resource (B-A-R) model consisting of N agents who compete for a limited resource 1/2<L/N <1, where L is the maximum available resource per turn for all N agents. As L increases, the system exhibits well-defined plateaux regions in the success rate which are separated from each other by abrupt transitions. Both the maximum and the mean success rates over each plateau are 'quantized' -- for example, the maximum success rate forms a well-defined sequence of simple fractions as L increases. We present an analytic theory which explains these surprising phenomena both qualitatively and quantitatively. The underlying cause of this complex behavior is an interesting self-organized phenomenon in which the system, in response to the global resource level, effectively avoids particular patterns of historical outcomes. 
H. Y. Chan, T. S. Lo, P. M. Hui and N. F. Johnson