Rock Paper Scissors

Pick rock, paper or scissors and the computer shows its hand a moment later. The result and a running score appear at once, and the three-sector wheel gives two players a random hand each.

How to play rock paper scissors online

1. Choose your hand: Rock, Paper or Scissors.
2. The computer shuffles for a moment and reveals its hand.
3. The result appears in large type — You win!, You lose or Draw — and the score line under it keeps count of wins, losses and draws.

Play as many rounds as you like. For best of three or best of five, simply play until one side reaches two or three wins; Clear resets the score for the next match.

The rules

• Rock crushes scissors.
• Scissors cut paper.
• Paper covers rock.
• The same hand on both sides is a draw — play the round again.

Off-screen, players count “rock, paper, scissors, shoot” and show their hands on the last word, and arguments start when someone is a little late. Here the computer commits to its hand the instant you click, so neither side can wait and react.

Strategy and fairness

Against a random opponent like this one, no trick works: over many rounds each hand wins exactly a third of the time, and streaks of wins or losses are just chance. People are far less random. They avoid playing the same hand three times in a row, and studies of real games found that winners tend to stick with their hand while losers switch. Watch for those habits when you play friends — and use the computer to practise staying unpredictable.

A wheel for two players

The wheel under the title has one sector each for rock, paper and scissors. Spin it when two people each need a random hand, for instance in a game over video where showing hands at the same moment is hard, or to settle who goes first in another game. In Fullscreen the whole room sees the result. For a choice between two options, flip a coin; for longer lists, use the decision wheel.