Rock paper scissors

Rock, Paper, Scissors (also known by several other names and word orders) is an <a href="/facts/Intransitive_game/uTlbBG7D">intransitive</a> <a href="/facts/Hand_game/0QK1gaxG">hand game</a>, usually played between two people, in which each player simultaneously forms one of three shapes with an outstretched hand. These shapes are "rock" (a closed fist: ✊), "paper" (a flat hand: ✋), and "scissors" (a fist with the index finger and middle finger extended, forming a V: ✌). The earliest form of a "rock paper scissors"-style game originated in <a href="/facts/China/lTjIXY5p">China</a> and was subsequently imported into <a href="/facts/Japan/U5mz0SRT">Japan</a>, where it reached its modern standardized form, before being spread throughout the world in the early 20th century. 
A <a href="/facts/Simultaneous_game/TkHcpJUo">simultaneous</a>, <a href="/facts/Zero-sum_game/ccouScgK">zero-sum game</a>, it has three possible outcomes: a draw, a win, or a loss. A player who decides to play rock will beat another player who chooses scissors ("rock crushes scissors" or "breaks scissors" or sometimes "blunts scissors"), but will lose to one who has played paper ("paper covers rock"); a play of paper will lose to a play of scissors ("scissors cuts paper"). If both players choose the same shape, the game is tied, but is usually replayed until there is a winner.
Rock paper scissors is often used as a fair choosing method between two people, similar to <a href="/facts/Coin_flipping/uAJd6pAJ">coin flipping</a>, <a href="/facts/Drawing_straws/KTBfLu0T">drawing straws</a>, or throwing <a href="/facts/Dice/aURlPtbp">dice</a> in order to settle a dispute or make an unbiased group decision. Unlike truly <a href="/facts/Randomness/QJQBoEX5">random</a> selection methods, however, rock paper scissors can be played with some degree of skill by recognizing and exploiting non-random behavior in opponents.

Rock paper scissors open-in-new

Rock paper scissors