settle itRock Paper Scissors rules
Rules & online play.
Rock beats scissors, scissors beats paper, and paper beats rock. Learn the classic rules and play online with a friend using a shared contest link.
One click creates a friend invite with 3 moves. Your player name is “You”.
What beats what?
Start with the classic game when you want a quick decision with familiar rules. Each move beats one other move and loses to one; choosing the same move is a tie.
| Your move | Rock | Paper | Scissors |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rock | Tie | Lose | Win |
| Paper | Win | Tie | Lose |
| Scissors | Lose | Win | Tie |
All 3 winning matchups
- Rock beats Scissors.
- Paper beats Rock.
- Scissors beats Paper.
Example: If you lock in Rock and your friend locks in Scissors, you win. If you both choose Rock, the round is a tie.
Hand signs and playing in person
For an in-person game, make a fist for rock, a flat hand for paper, or a V with two fingers for scissors. Agree whether to reveal on ‘scissors’ or on an extra ‘shoot’ before counting together. Online, select the matching button and lock it in; you do not need to coordinate a countdown across a call.
A worked round
Suppose the winner takes the first turn in a board game. Alex chooses paper and Sam chooses rock: Alex goes first. If both choose scissors, nobody gets the first turn yet; replay. For a best-of-three, a win, a tie and a loss leaves the score at 1–1, so one more decisive round is needed.
Tie rates and fair choices
There are 3 moves for each player, so there are 3 × 3 = 9 possible ordered pairs of moves. Exactly 3 pairs match. If both players choose independently and each move is equally likely, the tie rate is 3/9 = 1/3, or about 33.3%.
Under the same assumptions, each player wins about 33.3% of rounds. No move is inherently stronger: each beats 1 and loses to 1. These are mathematical odds, not a guarantee about people who repeat favorite moves or copy each other.
For a quick decision, agree to play until the first non-tie. If you prefer a best-of-three, agree to count wins yourselves and use rematches until someone has two; tied rounds do not count as a win.
History and origins
The familiar hand game belongs to the Japanese ken-game tradition. A 1910 description in Jukichi Inouye’s Home Life in Tokyo already describes a closed fist as stone, an open hand as paper, and two spread fingers as scissors. It also describes using the game to make decisions. Today’s shared-link version keeps that simple purpose: agree what the winner gets, choose privately, and let the cycle decide.
Read more: Home Life in Tokyo (1910), description of stone-ken.
How to play Rock Paper Scissors with a friend
- Create your contest. Choose Rock Paper Scissors, enter your name, and describe the friendly disagreement you want to settle.
- Invite your friend. Share the invite link or the contest code directly with your friend. Once they join, both players can choose a move.
- Lock in your move. Select a move and lock it in. A locked move cannot be changed, and your friend’s choice stays hidden until both players commit.
- Read the result. Both moves and the winner are revealed together. The creator can start another round to break a tie or offer a rematch.
No account or download is needed. Keep using the same browser to retain your seat. The contest expires seven days after creation.
Questions about Rock Paper Scissors
What beats what in Rock Paper Scissors?
Rock beats Scissors. Paper beats Rock. Scissors beats Paper. Matching moves tie.
How likely is a tie?
With independent, uniformly random choices, 3 of the 9 possible ordered pairs are ties: 1 in 3. Human habits can change the observed rate. Matching moves always tie; the creator can start another round.
Can I play Rock Paper Scissors against the computer?
Yes. Choose this variant and select The computer on the contest form. The computer commits a random move before you choose on every round. You can also opt into a computer opponent after a minute if no friend joins, or start computer play from the waiting room.
Can a friend see my move before locking theirs?
No. The server keeps the opponent’s move hidden until both players have committed. Each locked choice is final for that round, and a rematch starts with fresh choices.
Ready to put the rules to work?
Create a contest with Rock Paper Scissors already selected, then invite a friend or choose the computer.
Start this variant →Try another ruleset
See our comparison of rock paper scissors variants to choose by number of moves, tie rate and learning time. For a three-choice game from Indonesia, try the Elephant Human Ant hand game, where the ant beats the elephant.