Rock Paper Scissors FAQ

Rock Paper Scissors is a hand game for two players who each make one of three shapes at the same time: rock (a fist), paper (a flat hand), or scissors (two fingers). Rock beats scissors, scissors beats paper, and paper beats rock. Matching shapes tie. It is used all over the world as a quick, fair way to settle small decisions, and it is also known as Roshambo or ro-sham-bo.

Yes. rockpaperscissorsgame.app is completely free and runs entirely in your browser. There is nothing to buy, download, or install, and there are no interruptive video ads or paywalls. Open the page and you can start a match immediately.

No. The game is the website — a 100% browser-based build with no app store download and no sign-up. Your stats are saved locally in your browser, so there is no login to manage.

Hand games that pit three gestures against each other in a cycle are documented in China as far back as the Han dynasty and were well established in Japan, where a version called janken took its modern rock-paper-scissors form by the 19th century. It spread worldwide in the 20th century and is now one of the most widely known games on Earth.

Yes. "Roshambo" (or "ro-sham-bo") is a common North American name for the same game, and "janken" is the Japanese name. The three throws and the rules are identical; only the calling chant differs by region.

Choose an opponent style and a match length on the setup screen, then start the match. Each round, pick rock, paper, or scissors during the "Rock, Paper, Scissors, Shoot" count by tapping a button or pressing R, P, or S. The computer commits at the same moment, both hands are revealed, and the round winner is scored. First to the majority of rounds wins the match.

Rock crushes scissors. Scissors cuts paper. Paper covers rock. Each of the three throws beats exactly one other throw and loses to the remaining one, which is what makes the game perfectly balanced.

If you and the computer throw the same shape, the round is a draw. It is added to your tie count in the stats but does not change the match score. The round is replayed until one side wins it.

It is the number of decisive rounds in a match. Best of 3 goes to the first player to win 2 rounds, best of 5 to the first to win 3, and best of 7 to the first to win 4. Tied rounds do not count, so a best-of-5 match can run longer than five rounds.

Tap the rock, paper, or scissors button, or press R, P, or S on a keyboard (1, 2, and 3 also work). Space or Enter starts a match and plays again after one ends, N returns to the setup screen, and M toggles sound.

No. The computer’s throw for each round is decided at the same instant you lock yours in and is fixed before the reveal. Neither side gets to react to the other within a round — that is the whole point of throwing on "shoot".

Against a truly random opponent, yes — every throw wins one third of the time, loses one third, and ties one third, and nothing you do changes that. Against a human or an adaptive AI it becomes a game of reading and disguising patterns, because people are not random. That is why competitive Rock Paper Scissors tournaments exist and why strong players beat weak ones consistently.

It keeps a lightweight model of your play: how often you throw each shape, which shape tends to follow which in your history, and whether you tend to copy the throw that just beat you. It predicts your most likely next throw and plays the counter, with a small amount of deliberate randomness so it is not perfectly predictable itself. It runs entirely in your browser — no data leaves your device — and it resets at the start of every match.

Be less predictable than it expects. Avoid fixed cycles, break the reflex to switch after a loss or repeat after a win, and mix in throws that feel wrong. A useful trick is to plant a simple pattern for three or four rounds, let the AI commit to countering it, then abandon it when the match is on the line. If in doubt, genuinely randomise and take the even odds.

There is no throw that wins more often on its own. Against unknown human opponents, paper is a slight edge because first-throw rock is the most common opening, especially among casual and male players. Against this site’s Fair Play opponent it makes no difference at all.

Yes. Organised tournaments have run since the early 2000s, including events staged by the World Rock Paper Scissors Association and, earlier, the World RPS Society, with televised finals and cash prizes. Competitive play treats the game as applied psychology: forcing throws, spotting tells, and disrupting an opponent’s rhythm.

Your match record, round record, and current and longest win streaks are saved locally in your browser for both opponent styles. Nothing is sent to a server and there is no account. Because the save lives on the device, a different phone, a new browser profile, or cleared site data looks like a fresh start.

Yes. The layout is built for touch: three large throw buttons and the scoreboard fit on one portrait screen, and starting a new match is instant with no page reload. It works the same in mobile Chrome, Safari, Firefox, and Edge.

The game needs a connection to load the page the first time. After that, some browsers may keep the tab playable without a network, but there is no dedicated offline app or installer.

Open Stats from the game controls and use Reset progress, then confirm with the second tap. That clears the match record, round record, and streaks for both Fair Play and Mind Reader on this browser. It cannot be undone.

Any current browser with JavaScript: Chrome, Edge, Firefox, and Safari on desktop, plus their mobile versions. If a throw does not register, update the browser, allow scripts for this site, and reload.