diff --git a/quantecon/game_theory/tests/test_polymatrix_game.py b/quantecon/game_theory/tests/test_polymatrix_game.py
index 56523b4d..1fb187ed 100644
--- a/quantecon/game_theory/tests/test_polymatrix_game.py
+++ b/quantecon/game_theory/tests/test_polymatrix_game.py
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@
 from numpy import allclose, zeros
 
 import os
+from numba import njit
 
 # Mimicing quantecon.tests.util.get_data_dir
 data_dir_name = "game_files"
@@ -22,15 +23,57 @@ def close_normal_form_games(
 ) -> bool:
     if nf1.N != nf2.N:
         return False
+    
+    # Handle empty games (no players) - fall back to original logic
+    if nf1.N == 0:
+        for player in range(nf1.N):
+            if nf1.nums_actions[player] != nf2.nums_actions[player]:
+                return False
+        for player in range(nf1.N):
+            if not allclose(
+                nf1.players[player].payoff_array,
+                nf2.players[player].payoff_array,
+                atol=atol
+            ):
+                return False
+        return True
+    
+    # Check action numbers using numba helper for non-empty games
+    if not _nums_actions_equal(nf1.nums_actions, nf2.nums_actions):
+        return False
+    
+    # Compare payoffs for each player
     for player in range(nf1.N):
-        if nf1.nums_actions[player] != nf2.nums_actions[player]:
+        # Check if shapes are different first - if so, let numpy handle it like original
+        arr1 = nf1.players[player].payoff_array
+        arr2 = nf2.players[player].payoff_array
+        if arr1.shape != arr2.shape:
+            # Fall back to original numpy allclose to maintain same error behavior
+            if not allclose(arr1, arr2, atol=atol):
+                return False
+        else:
+            # Use optimized numba version for same-shape arrays
+            if not _allclose_ndarray(arr1, arr2, atol):
+                return False
+    return True
+
+
+@njit(cache=True)
+def _nums_actions_equal(nums_actions1, nums_actions2):
+    for i in range(len(nums_actions1)):
+        if nums_actions1[i] != nums_actions2[i]:
             return False
-    for player in range(nf1.N):
-        if not allclose(
-            nf1.players[player].payoff_array,
-            nf2.players[player].payoff_array,
-            atol=atol
-        ):
+    return True
+
+@njit(cache=True)
+def _allclose_ndarray(a, b, atol):
+    # Check shapes first
+    if a.shape != b.shape:
+        return False
+    arr_flat = a.ravel()
+    brr_flat = b.ravel()
+    for i in range(arr_flat.shape[0]):
+        if abs(arr_flat[i] - brr_flat[i]) > atol:
             return False
     return True