Q&A for How to Play Rock, Paper, Scissors

It's a personal choice. The tempo between these two options actually matches "on your mark, get set, go" and "ready, on your mark, get set, go." For some people, the first option is more comfortable. For others, the second feels more natural. It's just a matter of personal taste.

As many rounds as you'd like! If you're playing to settle a decision, choose the number of rounds ahead of time. People often play "best of 5" (meaning the first player to win 3 games wins the match).

Sure, you can fold paper, but it's not like scissors can't cut through folded paper!

The same way. If there's a tie between two winners, the third is out and the two final ones do it up.

Not according to the original rules, but you could change the rules to include dynamite.

That means that the paper gesture will win (if one is paper gesture and another is the rock gesture).

Ideally, be 10-15% slower than your opponent (at a still-fast pace). Not enough to be obvious to your opponent, but at that final decisive moment, you can predict with 60-80% accuracy their choice of hand, and correspondingly so can beat them. Here's how: If, when they beat their hand, they begin to rotate it 90 degrees at the last second, they're most likely going for paper. If they don't begin to rotate their hand, but you see any fingers begin to extend, they're likely going for scissors. No rotation and no finger movement is rock.

Yes, that's the only thing rock defeats.

Statistically, assuming a purely random chance of opposition, you would have a 1/3 chance every time. Your chances of always winning would shrink by (1/3)^x where x is the number of times you play the game. However, in reality, the more you play with a single partner the more likely they will notice your lack of variety, and your chances of winning would be even less than (1/3)^X.

In real life, yes. But not according to the rules of the game!

Each object has a unique way of winning or losing when played against other objects. Rock in particular is vulnerable to being enveloped by paper. Therefore, you theoretically have an equal chance of victory regardless of what you play. This is where the wild card of chance comes in, though there may be a bit of strategy involved in predicting what your opponent will play based on patterns they display.

Each player probably paired off with another player, then played a round, after which the loser stepped out of the game, until there were two players left, and they played one last round against each other.

The rock wins, because rock trumps scissors. However, if there were two rocks and one scissors, then the scissors gets singled out.

You can play the game however you want! It's more popular, though, for people to say "Rock, paper, scissors, shoot!"

"Shoot" is to let people know when to show either Rock, Paper, or Scissors.

Of course you can. It is just an option to let your opponent(s) know when you and they should show what they chose: rock, paper, or scissors.

No. It's just to let people know when to show their chosen object from Rock, Paper, or Scissors.

Each sign is equally good. Rock trumps scissors, scissors trumps paper, and paper trumps rock.

It is used in some variations. The pencil can write on paper, but it can be smashed by scissors and rock, so it's not a very good move to use.

Some people just don't know how to play and don't have a friend who can teach them.

No, paper covers rock. Remember the cycle: rock beats scissors, scissors cuts paper, and paper covers rock.

In some versions, yes. You can make up your own items to use that beat two other items. If you wanted to play with a gun, you could say gun beats rock and paper, but scissors beats gun.

There is no penalty. You just redo the round. It is possible that the player got distracted and didn't had time to select an option.

Then it’s tight and you do it again. Keep on going until there are different objects. Paper beats rock, rock beats scissors, scissors beat paper.

Dynamite is not a viable object in Rock, Paper, Scissors, but if it were, it would trump everything.

If that happens, it is a three-way tie. Keep going until two players choose the same object.

You can't. You can only get very good at predicting what your opponent will choose.

"Rock, Paper, Scissors, Shoot," is the more commonly accepted method of playing.

The "shoot" gives you the exact time to reveal your handshape. You may do it without the "shoot", but you might not play at the same time if you don't have a word (the word is typically "shoot", but any monosyllabic word works).

Its a mind game. If you play enough, then you become accustomed to the game in such a way you can correctly guess the other player's hand most of the time