Rock, Paper, Scissors variations

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Rock, Paper, Scissors variations include cosmetic and functional variations on the classic version of Rock, Paper, Scissors as well as several related but non-homomorphic games.

Contents 1 Cosmetic variations 1.1 Names of symbols 1.2 Muk-Chi-Ba 1.3 Strip Janken 1.4 Osaka Janken 1.5 Extreme Rock, Paper, Scissors 1.6 Animal Brutality 2 Functional variations 2.1 Number of players 2.2 Alter-Beast 2.3 Odd or Even (2 symbols) 2.4 Four-hand variation 2.5 Five-hand variations 2.6 Trumps (3+) 2.7 Inversions 2.8 Hand of God 2.9 Flagon Tri 2.10 Ultimate Rock Paper Scissors/Existential Rock Paper Scissors 2.11 Metamorphic Rock Paper Scissors 3 International variations 4 Related games 5 References 6 External links

[edit] Cosmetic variations

Cosmetic variations on Rock, Paper, Scissors change the appearance of the game but not the strategy of the players or the fundamental nature of the possible outcomes. Cosmetic variations include alternate names for and gestures used to indicate each of the three symbols, as well as changing the outcome in trivial ways.

[edit] Names of symbols

When changing the names of the symbols, typically each symbol has its own gesture associated with it. These may be simple hand gestures as in traditional Rock, Paper, Scissors, or whole-body gestures.

• "Bear, Cowboy, Ninja" is most often associated with Ultimate and is played using the entire body as well as sound effects (which are required for a throw to be considered legitimate in some circles). Bear mauls Ninja, Ninja dodges Cowboy's bullets, and Cowboy shoots Bear. Some non-ultimate variations include substituting Lion instead of Bear or Hunter instead of Cowboy. The set up is similar to the "Hero, Bear, Maiden" version detailed below. This variant was conceived and created during a Rogue river rafting trip to capture the perpetual, existential struggle between The Practical Ninja (Ben Fogelson) and The Bear Master of the Rogue (Ry Koteen). When they later founded the legendary Jaded Andain Ultimate, team B-C-N became a standard component of sideline Reindeer games and standard play alike.
• A well known version is called Old Lady, Assassin, Business Man. In this version, the Old Lady beats the Assassin with a cane, the Assassin shoots the Business Man, and the Business Man takes the old lady to the nursing home. The symbol for the three (respectively) are a hand cupped to look like a wheel chair, a hand that looks like it is grabbing something, and the index and middle finger sticking out, while the others are pressed to the palm of the hand, and pointing downward.
• Superman, Spiderman, Batman is another variation. Superman beats Spiderman, Spiderman beats Batman and due to his possession of a Kryptonite ring given to him by Superman, Batman beats Superman. The actions are as follows: Superman - arm raised superman style; Spiderman - palms face upwards with middle finger touching palm; Batman - hold ring finger out with smug look on face
• The Chinese and Koreans call the three standard symbols Scissors, Rock, and Cloth, in that order.
• In northern China, a variant uses the legs rather than hands to avoid removing one's gloves in winter air. The two players jump in unison three times. When they land on the third jump, "Rock" is represented by landing with the two feet together, "Scissors" with one foot in front of the other, and "Cloth" (Paper) with the two feet apart horizontally.
• In Taiwan, the order is normally Scissors, Rock, Cloth.
• Japanese call them Gū, Choki, and Pā, which are onomatopoeic words for Rock, Scissors, and Paper respectively. The game itself is called Janken. There are several less common varieties with different hand signs, such as Mushi-ken ("vermin hands"), in which Snake beats Frog, Frog beats Slug, and Slug beats Snake. Kitsune-ken ("fox hands") uses gestures rather than hand signs, in which Fox beats Village Headman, Village Headman beats Gun, and Gun beats Fox. Tora-ken ("tiger hands") is another gesture version; Watōnai (Koxinga) beats Tiger, Tiger beats Mother (Tagawa Matsu), and Mother beats Watōnai.
• In Singapore, the game is commonly known as "Scissors, Paper, Stone". However, modification of the game to use different elements is fairly common among primary school children.
• In Malaysia, especially in the countryside, it is called "1-2-Som" or "1-2-Juus". It works exactly like Rock, Paper, Scissors but with some minor changes. Rock (closed fist) beats Cup (fingers on one hand pinched together, as in "taking a pinch of salt"), Cup beats Water (open palm), Water beats Rock. The logic is that a rock will break a cup, the cup will steal water, water will sink the rock. Another popular explanation (which is also somewhat simpler to imagine) is that the fingers pinched together form the shape of a bird's beak. The bird drinks the water, the water sinks the rock, and the rock kills the bird.
• In Myanmar, Commander beats Soldier, Soldier beats Tiger, and Tiger beats Commander. The idea being that while the Commander has authority over the Soldier, he is too old and physically unfit to take on the Tiger. However, the Soldier being young, strong and well trained, beats the tiger. The game's gestures are not limited to the palm as most of the other rock, scissors and paper variations. The Commander's gesture is done with arms placed on hips. The Tiger's gesture is done with raised arms and spread claws, like a tiger about to pounce. The Soldier's gesture is done with the thumbs and index fingers of both hands in the "pistol" position. A slight variation of this version may be played, where Soldier is replaced with Gun, represented by the same gesture. Commander also beats Gun, but Gun beats Tiger, the logic being that the Commander has control over his Gun, but the Gun shoots the Tiger.
• In Mario Party 2, there is a duel mini-game similar called "Bowser, Peach, or Mario" in which pressing A would select Mario, B Peach and Z Bowser. Bowser beats Peach, Peach beats Mario and Mario beats Bowser.
• In India, Elephant beats Human, Human beats Ant, and Ant beats Elephant.
• In The Netherlands RPS is also know als Steen, Dynamite, Schaar (Rock, Dynamite, Scissors), because blowing up the rock is easier to imagine than packing the rock.
• One of the most popular modern varieties is called Cat, Microwave, Tinfoil. Cat beats Tinfoil by ripping it up, Tinfoil beats Microwave by starting a fire, and Microwave beats Cat by cooking it. This version was created because, to the creators of Cat, Microwave, Tinfoil, it doesn't make sense that Paper beats Rock by covering it: Paper doesn't damage Rock, while on the other hand Rock can destroy Paper by tearing it. However, Cat, Microwave, Tinfoil doesn't make much sense either, since foil in a microwave produces dramatic arcing but does not actually damage the machine.
• Bulldog, Mongoose, Cobra is another variation, with Bulldog beating Mongoose, Mongoose beating Cobra, and Cobra beating Bulldog. This is the only known variation where sound effects are ritualized and crucial - if you fail to make the Cobra's hissing sound, for example, it is powerless against the Bulldog.
• Hunter, Gun, Lion has Hunter beating Gun, Gun beats Lion, and Lion beats Hunter.
• In Fire, Water, Ice, fire beats ice by melting it, water beats fire by putting it out, and ice beats water by freezing it. Fire is two hands making a triangle, water by the hand looking like a wave and ice by shivering. This concept is used on the elemental ghosts found in Luigi's Mansion
• Another form is "Gun, Bunny, Dirt", where gun beats bunny by shooting the bunny, bunny beats dirt by digging dirt up, dirt beats gun by burying it. The gun symbol is a fist with the index and middle fingers pointed forward, and the thumb up. The symbol for bunny is a fist with the index and middle fingers up and spread apart, like the peace sign or the v-for-victory. Dirt is the hand flat, like paper.
• A variation of the above which is popular in Australia is "Bunny, Carrot, Gun!" The Bunny eats the Carrot, the Carrot clogs the Gun and the Gun shoots the Bunny. The bunny is symbolled by making a "V" with your index and middle fingers, while bending the ends of the two fingers downwards. The carrot is simply created by pointing your index finger towards the other person and thee gun is made by by point your index and middle fingers and raising your thumb.
• In Gorilla Man, Gorilla Man beats Ninja or Karate Man, Karate Man beats Gun Man, and Gun Man beats Gorilla Man. The entire body is used, and the making of sound effects is proper form. This variant is especially played at Camp Agawam.
• In Cow, UFO, Microbe, Cow eats Microbe, Microbe contaminates UFO, and UFO dissects Cow.
• In Foot, Cockroach, Nuclear Bomb, Foot stomps on and squashes Cockroach, Nuclear Bomb blows up Foot, and Cockroach survives Nuclear Bomb. This variation was formed by Steven Hyde on That '70s Show, as Fez refused to play Rock, Paper, Scissors with him anymore.
• In another scheme, Hero beats Bear, Bear beats Maiden, and Maiden beats Hero. This version is typically played with the entire body; the specific stances vary, but common examples are given. One version is called Bear, Housewife, Cowboy. Players begin by standing facing away from each other approximately 1 meter apart, as if preparing for a duel. They count to three, and on "Go", each player jumps 180 degrees into one of three poses. The Bear pose has legs apart and arms up with hands formed into claws with an optional roar sound effect. Bear eats Housewife. The Housewife pose has legs together and arms close to the body in a gesture of surrender with an optional eek sound effect. Housewife marries Cowboy. The Cowboy pose has legs apart with both hands at the hips in the traditional gun signals of thumbs straight up, index fingers pointing forward and other fingers curled, with optional bang sound effect. Cowboy shoots Bear.
• People, Guns, and Rock is another variant; people (two fingers downward representing the legs), guns (a finger stretched out and the thumb upwards), and rock are the symbols used. People throw rocks, rocks crush guns, and guns shoot people.
• Paper, Rock, Killers is a variant featuring a gunman, a bomb, and stinky breath. The gunman (represented by extending the index finger and thumb in the shape of a gun) can shoot the bomb (therefore blowing it up), the bomb (represented with a closed fist, much the same way a rock is in standard RPS) can blow up the man with the stinky breath, and the stinky breath (represented by waving fingers up and down in a motion that would suggest odor) kills the gunman.
• Fire, Wood, Water is a variant used on the American reality TV show Endurance. Fire burns Wood, Wood floats on Water, and Water douses Fire.
• A common method used in South Korea, is actually to say "rock" three times over. Therefore "muk muk muk." Of course this is regional, found only in the NorthWest by North region.
• Known in New Zealand is the Lord of the Rings variation... Dark Lord (arms raised high in a monster-like pose) beats Orc (arms roughly straight ahead and being shaken in a slightly less scary pose) by commanding it; Orc beats Hobbit (crouch down and twiddle arms to and fro) through superior strength, while in the ultimate RPS-like twist which categorises the LOTR story, Hobbit defeats the Dark Lord by destroying the one ring. Oops!
• In The Wild Thornberrys, another variation is used by the characters, "Gazelle", "Fruit", "Lion". Gazelle eats Fruit, Lion eats Gazelle, Fruit gives Lion a stomachache.

[edit] Muk-Chi-Ba

While traditional Rock, Paper, Scissors (called "Gawi-Bawi-Bo" and pronounced "Kai-Bai-Bo") is popular among Koreans, a popular related game is Muk-Chi-Ba.

This game is enjoyed for its sudden reversals and the quick thinking it requires.

In South Africa, the game is referred as Ching-Chong-Cha (phonetic).

[edit] Strip Janken

Another variation is strip Rock, Paper, Scissors called Yakyū-ken, a Japanese party game, where every time a player loses, he or she has to remove an article of clothing. This goes on until one of the players is completely naked.

[edit] Osaka Janken

Originating in Kansai, Osaka janken follows the chant "Osaka janken, maketara kachi yo" (Osaka janken, the loser is the winner).

[edit] Extreme Rock, Paper, Scissors

Another variation is Extreme Rock, Paper, Scissors, in which the winner of each game may use their winning hand position to assault the loser. Paper becomes a slap, rock a punch and scissors a poke (usually in the sternum, but sometimes in the penis). This adds the extra challenge of trying to get the more painful positions without the opponent realizing it, while offering a chance to legitimately hit them. This is also known as Rock, Paper, Scissors, Brutality in some areas.

An alternative method of assault that is quite commonly used is: Paper is a slap on a horizontal hand, Rock is a fist brought down on a horizontal hand and scissors can be either a vertical/horizontal hand held out while slapped by the other person's two hands in a way that can only be described as a sandwich, or it can (much more painfully) be two fingers brought down on a horizontal hand, which if done correctly will hurt an awful lot.

Another variation is "Rock, Paper, Scissors, Slap". Two people are locked in a perpetual handshake. When Person A wins, Person A turns the hands so Person B's palm is facing down. Person A then slaps Person B's hand.

The 25 gesture variant created by David C. Lovelace is also referred to as Extreme RPS. See below (under five hand RPS) for details.

[edit] Animal Brutality

Derived from Extreme Rock, Paper, Scissors, Animal Brutality is a game which involves symbols for a goose, a crab, and a claw. The goose beats the crab, and retaliation is pulling the arm hairs of the loser. Its sign is bringing all fingers together to meet at the tips in a point, forming a beak. The crab beats the claw, and the loser suffers from a severe pinch at any area favored by the winner. Its sign is similar to making the okay sign with the middle finger meeting the thumb instead of the index finger. The claw beats the goose and results in raking fingernails down the opponent's arm. Obviously, its sign is a claw-shaped hand. This game is most entertaining when played by several people, as everyone is being pinched, scratched, or pulled at once in a mad frenzy at the end of the round. The loser is the one who bails first from extensive injury or a pathetic level of pain tolerance.

[edit] Functional variations

Functional variations actually change game play, including associated strategies. These include the number of players and number of symbols (either as additional symbols in the circle, or a more complex topology).

[edit] Number of players

The game is easily adaptable to more than just two players. This variant works remarkably well, even for large groups. The rules are the same, with the following exceptions:

• If all three weapon types are played, or only one type of weapon is played, the round is considered to be a draw. A new round begins.
• If there are only two different weapon types showing between all of the players, then all of the players showing the losing weapon are eliminated.

Another adaptation of Rock, Paper, Scissors for more than two players is Richard Garfield's Ready, Aim, Fire.

A game of Ready, Aim, Fire consists of a series of rounds. In each round, each player chooses to aim their gun (by pointing a finger) at the sky, any opponent, or themself. The following rules then determine which players survive and which players die:

• If you shoot the sky, then you do not cause any players to die. You die if any opponent shoots you.
• If you shoot an opponent, then that player dies if they didn't shoot themself. If they did shoot themself, then they live, and you die. You also die if any opponent shoots you.
• If you shoot yourself, then you die if no one else shoots you. If any opponent shoots you, then you live, and all opponents who shot you die.

A series of rounds is played in this way until only a single player remains (in which case that player is the winner) or no players remain (in which case the game is a draw).

[edit] Alter-Beast

Named after the Altered Beast video game released for the Sega Genesis, this is an RPS variation suitable for any number of players. All players in the game must play rounds of Rock, Paper, Scissors until only one person remains, this person is declared the Alter-Beast.

The pool of players is dwindled down through people offering and accepting a challenge to duel. All challenges must be accepted or the challenged player must leave the game. The challenge and acceptance follows the following dialog and any variation could result in an automatic loss:

• Challenger: "Hello, My name is ________"
• Opponent: "Hello, My name is ________"
• Challenger: "Prepare to meet thy doom!"
• Opponent: Maniacal laughter

They then face off in a once for all RPS match. The loser of the match is at this time out of play and must follow the victor for the remainder of the game chanting his name. The victor moves on to duel another player. When a player loses he and all those cheering for him must immediately begin cheering for the new victor.

The game ends when only one player remains and everyone in the original field of play is chanting his name. The victor is declared the Alter-Beast.

[edit] Odd or Even (2 symbols)

In Odd or Even, one player selects odd or even. The only choice in weapons are "one" (a fist with outstretched thumb) or "two" (a fist with outstretched thumb and forefinger). The values signified by the players are added, with the first player winning on a correct prediction about the result. With a choice between two values (it does not matter that they are 1 and 2, only that they are not both odd or even) the game is balanced, and there is no benefit from making the call. Should the player allow three (or any odd number) values to choose from, either odd or even would be a more probable outcome with both players acting randomly. (That is because n choices make n² possible outcomes. Squares of even numbers are even, squares of odd numbers odd.)

See also Odd or Even.

[edit] Four-hand variation

A Four-hand variation of RPS based on the classical elements were seen being played in Avatar: The Last Airbender. Although there is nothing official except 'Earth beats Fire' and how to position 3 of the 4 hands, the rest of the rules can be concluded:

1. The series arranged the elements (Water, Earth, Fire, Air) so that each follows a pattern of losing to the previous, winning the next, and be neutral to the one after.

a. Water submerges Earth; Earth absorbs Fire; Fire consumes oxygen from Air; and Air returns to manipulate Water.

b. Opposite elements are draws. Water can extinguish Fire but also evaporated by it. Earth and Air are neutral since one drag and the other thrust.

2. Since the series employs different martial art styles to bend each elements, the hand positions are based on them.

Water, although not shown, is most likely a bend hand to emulate a waterfall or the hook presented in the single whip posture found in T'ai Chi Ch'uan, the style used for Waterbending.

Earth, shown as pound fist, is most likely from Hung Gar, the style used for Earthbending.

Fire, shown as an overturn hand emulating flames, resembles a dragon grasp/ fist of Northern Shaolin, the style used for Firebending.

Air, shown but unnamed, is stop hand or the 'eight trigram palm' from Bāguà zhǎng, the style used for Airbending. It is also related to the Abhayaprada mudrā.

3. Since the number of hands are equal, possibility for victory or defeat is 2/5, while draws are more likely with an outcomes of 3/5. Rounds are therefore played until one side wins.

[edit] Five-hand variations

Cantonese have been playing God, Chicken, Gun, Fox, Termite, which is an asymmetrical game unlike Rock, Paper, Scissors. God beats Chicken and Gun; Chicken beats Termite; Gun beats Chicken and Fox; Fox beats Chicken; and Termite beats God. God and Fox draw; Gun and Termite draw; and Fox and Termite draw.

Malaysians also have an asymmetrical five-hand variation, Bird, Rock, Gun, Board, Water. Bird beats Water; Rock beats Bird and Board; Gun beats Bird, Rock, and Board; Board beats Bird and Water; and Water beats Rock and Gun.

There exists a modern five-hand variation called Rock, Paper, Scissors, Spock, Lizard, which is carefully crafted so that each weapon defeats exactly two other weapons, and is defeated by exactly two other weapons. Specifically, rock defeats scissors and lizard, paper defeats rock and Spock, scissors defeat paper and lizard, Spock defeats scissors and rock, and lizard defeats Spock and paper. (The rationale is that Spock smashes scissors and vaporizes rock, but is disproved by paper, while the lizard is crushed by rock and decapitated by scissors, but eats paper and poisons Spock.) The game can be similarly altered for 7, 9, 11, etc. As long as there are an odd number of weapons, a balanced game can be created, with each weapon beating half the weapons and losing to half the weapons. The advantage of playing with more weapons is that ties become increasingly unlikely. The disadvantage is that an increasingly complex resolution table must be memorized (as well as any accompanying gestures).

Another symmetrical five-hand variation created by Jason Bloom is called "Rock, Paper, Scissors, Water, Dog." The relationships between Rock, Paper, and Scissors remain unchanged from the original game. As for the additions, Water trumps Scissors (rusts them), trumps Dog (drowns it), is trumped by Paper (is absorbed by it), and is trumped by Rock (is stopped by it, as in a dam.) Dog trumps Paper (pees on it), trumps Rock (buries it), is trumped by Water (already discussed), and is trumped by Scissors (is stabbed by them.)

While not exactly five gestures, there exists 7, 9, 11, 15, 25, and 101-hand variations of RPS created by David C. Lovelace. The gestures for RPS-7 were Rock, Paper, Scissors, plus Fire, Sponge, Air and Water. The number of combinations for the RPS-7 variation were 5,040.^[1] RPS-9 introduced Gun and Human.^[2] RPS-11 added Devil and Wolf.^[3] RPS-15 added Lightning, Snake, Dragon and Tree^[4]; and RPS-25 split Human into Man and Woman and added Dynamite, Nuke, Alien, Bowl, Moon, Cockroach, Monkey, Axe and Sun.^[5] According to the creator, there were 151 quintillion layouts for RPS-25.^[5] There is a very complex set of relationships between these gestures, which almost require a chart to play.

The game of Monkey Kombat from Escape from Monkey Island is effectively a five-object variation, with stances (known as Anxious Ape, Bobbing Baboon, Charging Chimp, Drunken Monkey and Gimpy Gibbon) replacing the objects. The trickiest part of this exercise is the learning of the transitions between the stances (achieved by permutations of the four sacred monkey words Ack, Oop, Eek and Chee).

[edit] Trumps (3+)

Players often add other "weapons" to the game on an ad-hoc basis, but it is very likely that this will result in an unbalanced game. In particular, four (or any even number) of weapons cannot be made balanced, unless some pairs of weapons result in a draw; there will always be some weapons that will be superior to others. Although this adds possible psychological elements to the game, some of its aesthetic simplicity is lost. Otherwise it is one of the simplest possible games of skill.

In the Live-Action version of Vampire:The Masquerade, which uses Rock, Paper, Scissors (sometimes referred to as 'hand jamming'), the discipline Potence has a level which can allow a player making an offensive physical action to use "The Bomb", which is a clenched fist with thumb extended upward. The Bomb acts with other hand signals in a manner befitting is name: it defeats both Rock and Paper, but in turn is defeated by scissors (the fuse is cut). This is an example of a Trump play.

Fire and water are also potential "trumps", and have been used in Ultimate tournaments. Fire will beat any of the standard weapons (rock, paper, scissors), but because of the power its play is restricted to a single use in the player's entire lifetime. Thus, the subject of when to "throw fire" is quite controversial. Water, which is referred to as "piss" in some circles, may be played as many times as one wishes, but will lose to anything except fire. Fire is typically played by gently waving all fingers; water is played by forming a circle with the thumb and index finger. There are many different ideas on what happens on the rare occasion that both players "throw fire", possibly the most controversial of these is the Ultimate tournament's rulings that both players must engage in a fight to the death. This has yet to occur in any tournament.

Another possible addition is that of well to the original three. Well beats both rock and scissors, because when a rock or a pair of scissors are thrown down a well, they'll fall, but loses to paper because when a paper sheet is thrown, it is likely that it will simply float to the side of the well. The use of this new weapon makes for an extremely unbalanced game, since it doubles the chances of winning while retaining the same amount of chances of losing. In principle, this variation makes Rock useless (as Well beats Scissors and loses to Paper just like Rock does, yet Well beats Rock) and replaces it, leaving the players with the same game and different symbols.

Yet another variation includes string, which wraps around both Rock and Paper, but is cut by Scissors. As Well renders Rock useless, this variation renders Paper useless, as String defeats it and interacts with Rock and Scissors the same.

Then there are the "Invincibles" where they automatically win such as the Volcano, Hand of God, Flagon tri and many others.

Staff at the Lancaster, PA site of the Center for Talented Youth have created new trump throws for the past 10 years, with 2005 RPS Tournament being a retrospective of all 20-odd of these throws.

[edit] Inversions

In some sub-groups of Ultimate, the use of "Inversion" is allowed as an additional strategic element. In this variation, at the last moment before the actual throw, any player involved may call out "Inverted". If invoked, this effectively reverses the relationship of each of the throws involved (ie. rock beats paper beats scissors beats rock). In situations where multiple players simultaneously call out "Inverted", the inversion is applied in an odd/even way whereby an odd number of Invert calls equals an inverted throw (ex. scissors beats rock), while an even number of Invert calls equals a negation of inversion and the throw results are interpreted as originally intended (ex. rock beats scissors).

As an added level of sophistication, the additional trump throw of "Kring" may be introduced in games involving inversions. The Kring hand symbol is a claw-like gesture with the bent fingers curled downward. The Kring will beat everything. It can also be thrown any number of times. While at first this throw would seem to be unbalancing, the addition of the inversion call will subsequently turn the Kring into a "loses to everything" throw. Traditionally, the person throwing the Kring will physically invert their hand a number of times equal to the number of inverts called upon the throw. A upside-down Kring (claw-like hand palm upward) is an all around loser.

[edit] Hand of God

The Hand of God variation is slightly related to the above Kring addition to Rock, Paper, Scissors: players may throw the "Hand of God", the whole hand held out shaking it slightly, which beats everything but the Flagon Tri. If both players throw the Hand of God, a draw is declared, and both players must punch each other in the head. Easily intimidated players will thus shy away from throwing this hand.

[edit] Flagon Tri

The Flagon Tri variation is yet another automatic victory, only the most powerful play in the whole game. It is played the same way as scissors except with the thumb being parallel to the two fingers. This beats hand of god, if two players choose this then it is a tie and they must poke each other in the eyes, the first one to surrender loses.

[edit] Ultimate Rock Paper Scissors/Existential Rock Paper Scissors

The game works under the idea of one throw beating another, except players may throw anything, as long as whatever is thrown can fit inside of a substantially large box. This means that anything from the range of a person, action, object or event can be used against the opponent. Weapons and abstract concepts, such as existentialism, cannot be used. Typically, because the two throws may not be compatible to each other, a third party will often judge which throw wins. Any amount of people may play and/or judge. It is a favorite game at Demarest Hall dormitory at Rutgers University.

[edit] Metamorphic Rock Paper Scissors

This game is a rather humorous and time-consuming version. After each player has selected either Rock, Paper, or Scissors, they may change it so that it beats their opponent's selection. The game continues until one player touches the other's hand with the correct selection to beat his current selection.

[edit] International variations

Australians often play the game as "scissors, paper, rock!" or "paper, scissors, rock!", with emphasis placed on the word "rock". The throw is made on the final word so that players only have two calls to synchronize the play. Alternatively, in Britain, it's often just called "scissors, paper, stone".

In Japan the game is known as Jan-ken-pon, often shortened to Janken. When there is a tie, an alternate chant of Aiko-De-Sho (we're even) may replace the primary chant.

Due to the influence of the Japanese-Brazilians, Brazilians prime the game as "jan ... ken ... po!", with emphasis placed on the "po". The throw is made as "po" is called, so that as with the Iranian variation, only two calls are made before the play.

In Taiwan, there is commonly no priming. Both players simultaneously throw the hands after a chant of "scissor, rock, cloth!", with no hand-bouncing. This is often confusing to visitors—seeing that the fist-bouncing can be interpreted as rock, most Taiwanese start with paper when playing foreigners.

In the Philippines, the game is called "Jack en Poy" or "Jack n' Poy", derived from the original Japanese Jan Ken Pon. As with many Japanese references in the Filipino culture, it may have originated from the Japanese occupation during World War II. The game is usually primed with a rhyme: "Jack En Poy, Hali-hali-hoy. Sinong matalo, siyang unggoy." (Translated as: Jack en Poy, Hali-hali-hoy. The loser is a monkey.) Also, there is a chant other than "Jack en Poy." It can be chanted as "papel, gunting, bato" which translate into paper, scissors, rock.

In Iran, the games is called "Sang Kaqaz Qeychi" (which literally means "Rock Paper and Scissors"), with emphasis placed on the "Qeychi". The throw is made as "Qeychi" is called, so that as with the Australian variation, only two calls are made before the play.

In Israel, the game is called "Even Neyar uMisparayim" (literally, "Rock Paper and Scissors"). As in the Philippines, a short rhyme precedes the game to indicate the throw: "Even Nyar uMisparayim, hamnatze'ah bein hashnayim, ahat shatayim shalosh!" (Rock Paper and Scissors, the winner of the two, one two three!)

In Sweden, the game is called sten, sax, påse (rock, scissors, bag). The gestures are the same - the flat hand is considered a bag, which can contain a rock.

In Iceland, the game is called "skæri, blað, steinn" (scissors, paper, rock).

In Latvia, the game is called "Akmens, šķēres, papīrīts". The rhyme is "Akmens, šķēres, papīrīts, viens, divi, trīs", which translates as "Rock, scissors, paper, one, two, three".

In some parts of India, the game is played as Man, Gun, Tiger (man is greater than gun, gun greater than tiger, tiger greater than man)

In Germany, the game is called Schere, Stein, Papier (scissors, rock, paper) or simply Knobeln. Regionally the game is also known by the rhyme Schnick, schnack, schnuck, Ching, chang, chong or Klick, klack, kluck or similar. The emphasis is almost always placed on the final (third) word of the rhyme.

In Russia, the game is called "камень, ножницы, бумага" (rock, scissors, paper).

In Chile the game is named Cachipun, and it is played saying Ca... Chi... Pun!. However, the symbols are the same and in Spanish the game should be called Piedra, Papel, Tijeras.

In Catalonia the game is named Pedra, Paper, Estissores(rock, paper, scissors), and it is played saying Un, dos, tres...pedra, paper o estissores...un, dos, tres.

In South Africa, the game is most commonly known as "Ching, Chong, Cha", with emphasis on the "Cha". It is also known by "Rock, Paper, Scissors", but this is less common.

In Quebec, occasionally, "Rock, Paper, Scissors, match" is called, with the emphasis on "match" as the synchronizing syllable. However, this has lead to a variation among school children where a "match" as an object is a fourth (weaker) option which burns paper but gets cut by scissors and crushed by rock. Paper is also made weaker by the addition of match as it is defeated by two objects (scissors and match) and defeats only one (rock). This variation found its way to the province's French speaking children and the translation used featured the word for the "object" match as well (Roche Papier Ciseaux Alumettes)

Elsewhere in Canada, "Rock, Paper, Scissors" is the normal call. The play is made on "scissors".

In the United States, occasionally, "Rock, Paper, Scissors, shoot" is called, with the emphasis on "shoot" as the synchronizing syllable.

In the Argentina, the game is called Piedra, Papel o Tijera (Rock, Paper or Scissors), with the emphasis on "Tijera" usually with bouncing hands, but it can be played with the hands starting behind the back.

In Greece, "Πέτρα, μολύβι, ψαλίδι, χαρτί" is called, with emphasis on "Χαρτί" ("Petra, molivi, psalidi, xarti" which translates to "Stone, pencil, scissors, paper.") Pencil is the object that makes the variation, but which of the other objects it wins and it loses to is quite disputed, and is usually arranged before the game starts. When put against stone, most commonly it loses as "it can be broken by stone", but it can also win as "it can write on the stone." When put against paper, it wins as it can "write/make holes on paper", and when put against scissors -most commonly- it loses as "it can be cut by scissors".

The name "roshambo" is also used on occasion during serious competition. In the Comedy central show South Park "Roshambo" refers to another game, in which two participants take turns kicking each other in the crotch until one gives up.

[edit] Related games

• Pointing version: In this variant the winner of each round of the game must make a pointing gesture - up, down, left, or right - with the aim of making their opponent look in that direction. If the loser of the initial rock-paper-scissors can avoid looking in that direction they steal the victory. However if they even glance in the pointed direction, they are confirmed as losers.
• During the 1980s, an action figure line called Battle Beasts was released by Hasbro in both America and Japan. Each sci-fi themed figure had, in the middle of its chest, a random symbol revealed through warming it via body heat through a finger. Players would randomly select a figure and challenge each other to "battle." The three symbols (wood, water, and fire) had a Rock, Paper, Scissors relationship (wood beats water, water puts out fire, fire burns wood). Later, the "sunburst" symbol, which could beat all other symbols, was introduced. The toy line was directly connected to the Japanese version of the Transformers series, initially featuring the traditional Autobot or Decepticon rub-sign logos. The fire/water/wood decals were added for the U.S. version, which had nothing to do with Transformers.
• In many real-time strategy computer games, there are three types of troops, with each troop type beating one and losing to another. For example, archers beat pikemen, cavalry beat archers and pikemen beat cavalry or, in a modern setting, light armored vehicles beat infantry, tanks beat light armored vehicles and infantry beat tanks. There are also some turn-based strategy games with a similar dominance structure; however, sometimes the troops are replaced with weapons regarding what dominates what.
• The popular Nintendo franchise Fire Emblem uses the RPS scheme in its battle system known as the weapon triangular affinity and magic affinities. There are variations on how the affinities relate to each other with each different game, but the RPS structure of the affinities is a staple of the franchise.
• A similar system is sometimes used to balance different character classes in MMORPGs. For example, in the game RuneScape, fighters have the advantage against ranger due to the latter's lighter armor, rangers have the advantage against wizards due to the greater range of their arrows, and wizards beat fighters by using spells to hold them at a distance.
• In Magic: The Gathering, the deckbuilding strategies tend to break down into a few major types. Though only an approximation, usually paper-rock-scissors is compared to aggro-control-combo. Since there is a random element, a matchup is not usually a 100% chance of victory for the dominant deck. The optimal strategy can be found using probability, and depends on what you expect other players to do. Additionally, references to the classical version of Rock, Paper, Scissors were made in the Unglued expansion set, in the form of the summonable creatures Paper Tiger, Rock Lobster, and Scissor Lizard.
• Pokémon is sometimes compared to a very complex variant of paper-rock-scissors, particularly the trio of starting Pokémon available in all the games, except Pokémon Yellow. Although the overall type chart is likely unbalanced (which in practice doesn't usually matter too much), the three starting Pokémon's types are very balanced, with Grass (dries up Water), Fire (burns Grass), and Water (douses Fire). However, there are similar trios of Pokémon that do not have balanced type relations – Eevee's three stone-evolved forms, Vaporeon, Jolteon and Flareon; the three legendary birds, Articuno, Zapdos and Moltres; and the legendary trio from the Gold, Silver and Crystal versions, which are Suicune, Raikou and Entei. In each case, the Electric-type Pokémon (Jolteon, Zapdos and Raikou) is superior. Note, however, that just as with Magic: The Gathering, a type advantage does not provide a 100% chance of beating your opponent, only an increased chance. In Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, the three starting Pokémon were rumored to be of the Fighting, Psychic and Dark types in contradiction of the long-time tradition. (Psychic outsmarts Fighting, Darkness influences Psychic, and Fighting knocks out darkness, most likely attributing fighting to a monk as a holy fighter to expel darkness).
• Many role-playing games also have an elemental system (usually involved with the magic system) which, while usually less complex, also provides superiority to certain types when used against other types. Examples: using ice powers gives you increased attack and defense against fire enemies, wind and dizzy attacks are more effective against floating enemies, and fire attacks on fire enemies have no effect.
• Eon Games' Darkover board game used a rock-paper-scissors style combat system. The two players would each hide a "power disk", which could be a sword, a keeper, or a starstone. The power disks are revealed simultaneously; sword beats keeper, which beats starstone, which beats sword. Two swords or two keepers would tie, but ties between starstones were resolved through "psychic combat".
• In Uru Live, the short-lived online component of the computer game Uru: Ages Beyond Myst, explorers could play a D'ni game called "Ahyoheek", which is a sophisticated Rock, Paper, Scissors implementation. This has been re-enabled in Untìl Uru, the new fan-run online service. It is played on a special pentagonal table with electronic scorekeeping and holographic display built in.
• Taasen is a chess-like game with a complex capturing move based on Rock Paper Scissors. It is featured in Unicorn Jelly.
• Trimok is a fast chess-like game based on rock paper scissors. A freeware version is available and actual game boards and pieces have been made (see external links).
• The Super Famicom puzzle game Ougijanken, similar to Dr. Mario, is branded as a Ranma ½ game, but is essentially based on Rock, Paper, Scissors.
• In the Looney Labs board game Cosmic Coasters, the two players decide the outcome of battles between spaceships by playing Rock, Paper, Scissors.
• In Zork Grand Inquisitor, the player, as Lucy Flathead plays a game of Strip Grue-Fire-Water against Antharia Jack, essentially the same as Rock, Paper Scissors, except the game kept score by the number of items of clothing players removed. (No nudity was ever shown).
• The Video Fighting game Dead or Alive uses a combat system that can be broken down in to a rock, scissors, paper strategy. A player can Strike, Throw or Block. A Strike beats a Throw, A Throw beats a Block, and a Block beats a Strike.
• In the Sega Master System game Alex Kidd in Miracle World the boss fights were represented by playing 'Janken'. This was effectively Rock, Paper, Scissors, but with the added strategy that you could use telepathy to see what your opponent was going to play, although they often changed their choice at the last minute
• Richard Bartle invented a game Spellbinder in 1977, which may be considered as a quite successful variation of Rock, Paper, Scissors.

[edit] References

1. ^ RPS-7. Dave's Games (2003-05-15). Retrieved on 2006-08-20.
2. ^ RPS-9. Dave's Games (2005-01-03). Retrieved on 2006-08-20.
3. ^ RPS-11. Dave's Games (2005-01-03). Retrieved on 2006-08-20.
4. ^ RPS-15. Dave's Games (2005-09-11). Retrieved on 2006-08-20.
5. ^ ^{a b} RPS-25. Dave's Games (2005-09-25). Retrieved on 2006-08-20.

[edit] External links

• Paper/Rock/Scissors/Lizard/Spock, a variation
• Regional variations on Rock Paper Scissors
• Rock Paper Scissors aka RoShamBo, using Christmas lights and a webcam
• Trimok, Chess-like game based on Rock Paper Scissors
• Taasen, Chess-like game featured in Unicorn Jelly
• RPS-101, "The most terrifyingly complex game ever"