Rock Paper Scissors
The quickest game there is: pick rock, paper or scissors and see if you can outguess the computer. Play a random bot for pure luck, or take on the smart bot, which studies your picks and tries to predict your next move.
How to play Rock Paper Scissors
- Choose rock, paper or scissors. The computer chooses at the same moment, and both moves are revealed together.
- Rock crushes scissors, scissors cut paper, and paper covers rock. The same move on both sides is a draw.
- Pick a match length from the toolbar: a single round, or best of 3, 5 or 7. Draws do not count, so the first player to win a majority of rounds takes the match.
- Your win streak grows with every round you win in a row (draws keep it alive), and your stats track wins, losses, draws and your favorite move.
Controls
- Tap or click a move button.
- Keyboard: number keys 1, 2, 3… or the first letter of a move (R, P, S…). Enter starts a new match when one ends.
Tips
- People rarely pick the same move three times in a row, and the smart bot knows it. Try repeating yourself to throw it off.
- After losing a round, many players switch to the move that would have beaten their opponent. Watch for that habit in yourself.
- Against the random bot, no strategy beats any other in the long run, so it is a good way to check your luck.
FAQ
How does the smart bot work?
It keeps a record of your moves on this device and looks for patterns: your overall favorites, what you tend to play after a given move, and after a pair of moves. It uses whichever pattern has been predicting you best, then plays the move that beats its guess, with a little randomness mixed in.
Can you always beat rock paper scissors?
Not against an opponent that plays truly at random: every move then wins, loses and draws one third of the time. Against a person (or a bot that predicts people) spotting patterns gives you an edge.
Is best of 3 or best of 5 fairer?
Longer matches give luck less say. In a best of 7 you need four round wins, so a lucky streak is less likely to decide it.
Are my stats saved?
Yes. Rounds, streaks, matches and your current match are saved on this device, separately for the classic game and the five-move version.