Rock Paper Scissors
Throw against a computer that can’t read your habits, or type in your group’s names and let a simulated showdown decide who wins, or who does the dishes.
Keyboard: 1/R 2/P 3/S
- Settle it fairlyWho picks the movie, who sits up front, who pays for snacks. One match, no arguments.
- Decide for a whole groupUp to 8 names play it out round by round until a single winner or loser is left.
- Practise your readTest whether your gut patterns hold up against an opponent with no patterns at all.
- Classroom brain breakProject it on the board, let the class call the throw, and play best of 5 against the computer.
How to play rock paper scissors here
Choose a match length
Best of 3 needs two wins, best of 5 needs three, best of 7 needs four. Ties never count toward either side.
Throw your hand
Click a hand or press 1, 2, 3 or R, P, S. The computer locks in its move with a crypto-random draw during the countdown.
Or decide for a group
Switch to group mode, type 2 to 8 names and choose whether you want one winner or one loser. Every throw is shown so nobody can claim it was rigged.
A fair opponent that never gets tired
Who beats whom: the full win table
In the classic game each hand beats exactly one other hand and loses to one, so any two different throws always produce a winner. Rock-Paper-Scissors-Lizard-Spock, invented by Sam Kass and Karen Bryla and made famous by The Big Bang Theory, keeps that balance with five hands: each beats two and loses to two.
| Hand | Beats | Loses to |
|---|---|---|
| Rock | Scissors (crushes), Lizard (crushes) | Paper, Spock |
| Paper | Rock (covers), Spock (disproves) | Scissors, Lizard |
| Scissors | Paper (cut), Lizard (decapitate) | Rock, Spock |
| Lizard | Spock (poisons), Paper (eats) | Rock, Scissors |
| Spock | Scissors (smashes), Rock (vaporizes) | Paper, Lizard |
In classic mode only the first three rows apply: rock beats scissors, scissors beat paper, paper beats rock.
Rock paper scissors strategy: what actually works against people
Against a truly random opponent, like the computer on this page, no strategy can do better than one third wins, one third losses and one third ties over the long run. Against humans it is different, because people are bad at being random.
A widely reported 2014 study from Zhejiang University watched hundreds of students play for real rewards. Players who had just won tended to repeat the winning hand, while players who had just lost tended to switch to the next hand in the order rock, paper, scissors. That pattern is often summed up as win-stay, lose-shift.
- If your opponent just won with rock, expect rock again and throw paper.
- If your opponent just lost, expect them to move up the cycle: rock to paper, paper to scissors, scissors to rock. Throw what beats that.
- First-time players are often said to open with rock, so paper is a popular opener. Experienced players know this too, which is why some open with scissors.
- People rarely throw the same hand three times in a row. After two repeats, the third throw is usually something else.
- Calling your throw out loud before playing is a classic bluff. Most people assume you will not do what you said.
These are tendencies, not rules. If you play the computer here and spot a pattern, it is a coincidence: every throw is independent.
How long does a group showdown take?
With more than two players a throw only counts when exactly two different hands appear. If all three hands show up, or everyone throws the same, the round is a tie and the group throws again. The more players, the more ties, which is why big groups often split into pairs in real life. This tool simply replays ties for you and shows how many there were.
| Players | Chance a throw is decisive | Average throws for that first split |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | 67% | 1.5 |
| 3 | 67% | 1.5 |
| 4 | 52% | 1.9 |
| 5 | 37% | 2.7 |
| 6 | 26% | 3.9 |
| 7 | 17% | 5.8 |
| 8 | 12% | 8.6 |
Numbers are for classic rules, where the decisive chance with n players is 3 times (2 to the power n minus 2) divided by 3 to the power n.
Where the game comes from
Hand games of this kind are recorded in China centuries ago, and the version with rock, paper and scissors took its modern shape in Japan as jan-ken, from where it spread around the world in the twentieth century. Today almost every country has its own name and chant: jan-ken-pon in Japan, gawi-bawi-bo in Korea, shitou jiandao bu in China, and in English Roshambo in parts of the United States.
In many places the game also decides real things: kickoff in playground football, who goes first in a board game, even which auction house got to sell a famous Japanese art collection in 2005.
Frequently asked questions
Is the computer’s move really random?
Yes. It is drawn with your browser’s cryptographic random generator before the result is shown, and it does not look at your previous throws. Each hand has exactly the same chance every round.
Can you beat a random computer at rock paper scissors?
Not over the long run. Against a truly random opponent every strategy averages one third wins, one third losses and one third ties. Strategy only helps against humans, who fall into patterns.
What does best of 3 mean?
The first player to win two rounds takes the match. Ties do not count, so a best of 3 can take more than three throws. Best of 5 needs three wins and best of 7 needs four.
How does the group mode decide a winner or loser?
Everyone throws at the same time. If exactly two different hands appear, the players with the winning hand stay in when you want a winner, or the players with the losing hand stay in when you want a loser. Ties are replayed until one name is left.
What are the rules of Rock Paper Scissors Lizard Spock?
Scissors cut paper, paper covers rock, rock crushes lizard, lizard poisons Spock, Spock smashes scissors, scissors decapitate lizard, lizard eats paper, paper disproves Spock, Spock vaporizes rock, and rock crushes scissors.
Can I play with the keyboard?
Yes. Press 1, 2 or 3, or R, P or S. In Lizard Spock mode you can also press 4 or L for lizard and 5 or V for Spock.
What is the best first move in rock paper scissors?
Against people, paper is a common pick because many beginners open with rock. Against this computer there is no best move: every hand wins one third of the time.