Rock, Paper, Scissors chart
Rock, Paper, Scissors is a hand game most often played by children. It is often used as a selection method in a similar way to coin flipping, Odd or Even, throwing dice or drawing straws to randomly select a person for some purpose, though unlike truly random selections it can be played with skill if the game extends over many sessions, because one can often recognize and exploit the non-random behavior of an opponent.
It is also known by many other names such as: Rochambeau, Paper Scissors Stone/Rock (UK),Scissors, Paper, Rock (Australia), Paper Scissors Rock (NZ), Ching Chong Cha (South Africa), Jiandao ShÃtou Bu (China), Janken (Japan), Schnick, Schnack, Schnuck (Germany), Morra Cinese (Italy), Piedra, Papel o Tijera (Spain), Pedra, Papel, Tesoura (Portugal), Chin chan pu (Mexico), and Gawibawibo (Korea).
[edit] Game play
The players count together to 3 counts, most commonly either using the name of the game (e.g. Rock! Paper! Scissors! or Ro! Sham! Bo!) or simply numbers. At the end of the third count, the players simultaneously change their fists into any of three "objects", which they then "throw" by extending it towards their opponent. An alternate introduction frequently used is "Rock, paper, scissor SHOOT" (or "one, two, three, shoot, etc.), throwing on "shoot".
- Rock: represented by a closed fist.
- Scissors : represented by the index and middle fingers extended toward the opposing player, mimicking a pair of scissors.
- Paper: represented by an open hand with the palm facing downwards and the fingers facing towards the opponent, resembling a flat piece of paper.
The objective is to defeat the opponent by selecting a weapon which defeats their choice under the following rules:
- Rock smashes (or breaks or blunts) Scissors (rock wins)
- Scissors cut Paper (scissors win)
- Paper covers Rock (paper wins)
If both players choose the same weapon, the game is a tie and is played again.
In some styles of play, the winner of each round has the opportunity to "use" the weapon on the opponent's weapon; excessive force is acceptable only if prior consent has been given. For example, a winner who has thrown rock may punch at the opponent's scissors, paper may slap at the rock, and scissors may "cut" the paper (though the latter has very little effect, especially in the forceful variation).
Frequently, the game is played in a "best 2 out of 3" match.
[edit] Cheating
One of the first tricks learned by a Rock-Paper-Scissors novice is to hold back a throw of paper until the last possible moment to dupe an opponent into believing that one may actually be throwing a rock. Both paper and scissors have this ability; however, unless one is employing a "double-back" strategy, cloaking a paper throw is likely to draw an instinctive paper from one's opponent. If the throw is accidentally revealed too late, that is, not revealed until the thrower's arm breaks the plane where the thrower's arm is perpendicular to the thrower's torso (at a 90 degree angle), this is considered a foul. In such a case the referee will assign a throw of rock, even if this is not what the thrower intended. This is known as a "forced rock."
A common variation on the opening ritual is to have both players hold their hands behind their backs and reveal their already formed throw after the count of three. The intention is to prevent any sort of timing based cheating.
Another way to cheat is to prime three times instead, if the opponent primed twice only, the other could see his opponent's throw without revealing his own, claiming that he thought "I thought we are doing three primes".
Note: 'priming' is the number of bounces one does before revealing the throw.
Yet another method of cheating is to play scissors but put it right up to the other player's eyes. The other player might then without realizing it put his/her hand up to block it. The cheater would then claim, "Scissors beats paper."
