How to play Rock Paper Scissors
- The three throws: rock is a fist, paper is a flat hand and scissors are two fingers in a V.
- Who beats who: rock crushes scissors, scissors cut paper and paper covers rock. Every throw beats one of the others and loses to the other one.
- The chant: the game calls out "Rock… paper… scissors… Shoot!" and both hands pump on each word, just like when you play with real hands.
- Throw on "Shoot!": tap your throw as the word "Shoot!" appears. With 2 Players, a throw counts from just before "Shoot!" until a moment after it. Tap too early and the game asks you to wait for "Shoot!". If you don't throw in time, you lose that point.
- Hidden until both are in: with 2 Players, your pad only says "Locked in!" after you tap, so your rival can't tell which throw you chose. When you've both thrown, the two hands are shown in the middle.
- Ties: if you both make the same throw, it's a tie. Nobody scores and you throw again.
- Winning: each throw you win scores a point. The first player to 3 points wins the game, or 5 points if you choose.
Controls
| Device | Orange | Purple |
|---|---|---|
| Phone or tablet | Tap rock, paper or scissors on the orange pad | Tap them on the purple pad |
| Keyboard | A rock, S paper, D scissors | J, K, L or ←, ↓, → |
On a phone held upright, Orange's pad is at the bottom and Purple's is at the top, turned round to face the player opposite, so sit facing each other with the phone flat between you. On a wide screen the two pads sit side by side.
Against the computer you play with the orange pad (at the bottom, or on the left of a wide screen), or with 1, 2 and 3, R, P and S, or the arrow keys. You can tap your throw at any time during the chant or just after "Shoot!". If you wait too long, the chant simply starts again.
Computer levels
The computer chooses its throw before the chant starts, using only the throws made so far. A padlock beside its name shows when it has locked in, so it can never react to your throw. What it can do is look for habits. People find it hard to be truly random: we repeat favourites, avoid throwing the same thing twice, or follow a pattern without noticing. The higher the level, the more habits it looks for.
| Level | How it plays |
|---|---|
| Easy | Has a favourite throw and uses it more than half the time. Spot it and throw what beats it. |
| Medium | Expects you to keep making the throw you've made most in your last few throws, and throws to beat it most of the time. |
| Hard | Looks for three habits at once: your favourite throw lately, what you throw after each of your throws, and how you answer its last throw. It also asks itself what you might expect from it. It follows whichever idea has been working, and sometimes throws at random. |
| Expert | Looks for the same habits, and starts with a guess that you'll repeat a throw that just won and switch after a loss or a tie, which it drops if you don't. It also checks whether you're a step ahead of it. While the game stays open, it remembers your throws from one game to the next. |
The little hands beside each name show the last five throws, so you can look for habits too.
Tips to win
- Look for a favourite. Easy keeps coming back to one throw. Watch its last few throws and throw what beats its favourite.
- Don't fall into a rhythm. Throwing rock, then paper, then scissors in turn is a pattern, and Hard and Expert find patterns quickly.
- Mix up what you do after a win. If you always repeat a throw that won, or always switch after losing, the computer will notice.
- Think one step ahead. If your rival just lost with paper, will they switch to scissors to beat it? Then rock is a good answer.
- Throw right on the beat. With two players, tap exactly as "Shoot!" appears. Waiting to watch your rival's hand only makes you too slow.
- Can't beat Expert? Try being truly random, for example by thinking of a number you can't predict. Expert then has nothing to learn, though you can't expect to win more than half the games either.
About Rock Paper Scissors
Hand games where each sign beats one sign and loses to another have been played in East Asia for centuries. The first known written mention is in a Chinese book from around 1600. The version played today, with rock, paper and scissors, comes from Japan, where it is called janken, and it spread around the world during the 20th century.
The game has many names. Some people say paper rock scissors or rock scissors paper, and in many countries it's scissors paper stone or stone paper scissors. Some players count "one, two, three" or say "jan-ken-pon" instead of the chant. The rules are the same everywhere: a fist, a flat hand and a V of two fingers, thrown at the same moment.
It's also a handy way to settle small choices fairly, such as who goes first in another game, because neither player can know what the other will throw.
Mathematically, the game is perfectly balanced: no throw is better than the others. A player who throws truly at random wins a third of the time, ties a third and loses a third, whatever the other player does. That's why the real contest is between habits: spotting your rival's, and hiding your own.
Questions
Does rock beat paper?
No. Paper covers rock, so paper wins. Rock beats scissors, and scissors beat paper.
What does "shoot" mean in rock paper scissors?
It's the moment both players show their throw. You chant "Rock, paper, scissors" and throw on "Shoot!". Throwing at the same moment is what makes the game fair.
Can the computer see my throw?
No. It locks in its throw before the chant starts, and a padlock shows when it has. It only knows the throws you've already made.
Is there a way to always win at rock paper scissors?
No. Against someone who throws truly at random, every throw is a one-in-three chance of a win, a tie or a loss. Against a real person, spotting habits gives you an edge, and that is exactly what the computer tries to do to you.
How do two people play on one phone?
Choose 2 Players and put the phone flat between you. Each of you gets a pad on your own side. Throws only count around "Shoot!" and stay hidden until you've both thrown, so it's fair even on one screen.
What happens if both players throw the same thing?
It's a tie. Nobody scores, and you throw again straight away.
Is this Rock Paper Scissors game free?
Yes. It's free in your browser, with no download, no sign-up and no ads during a game.
Updated 9 November 2026