settle itRock Paper Scissors Lizard Spock online
Rules & online play.
Learn all ten winning matchups in Rock Paper Scissors Lizard Spock, then challenge a friend to the five-move game online.
One click creates a friend invite with 5 moves. Your player name is “You”.
What beats what?
Lizard and Spock expand the game to five moves. Every move beats two others and loses to two. With independent, uniformly random choices, ties happen one time in five, compared with one time in three in the classic game.
| Your move | Rock | Paper | Scissors | Spock | Lizard |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rock | Tie | Lose | Win | Lose | Win |
| Paper | Win | Tie | Lose | Win | Lose |
| Scissors | Lose | Win | Tie | Lose | Win |
| Spock | Win | Lose | Win | Tie | Lose |
| Lizard | Lose | Win | Lose | Win | Tie |
All 10 winning matchups
- Rock beats Scissors.
- Rock beats Lizard.
- Paper beats Rock.
- Paper beats Spock.
- Scissors beats Paper.
- Scissors beats Lizard.
- Spock beats Rock.
- Spock beats Scissors.
- Lizard beats Paper.
- Lizard beats Spock.
Example: If you lock in Rock and your friend locks in Scissors, you win. If you both choose Rock, the round is a tie.
Remember all ten matchups
Learn the five-move game in two parts. Keep the familiar rock–scissors–paper cycle, then learn the added wins: rock crushes lizard; paper disproves Spock; scissors decapitates lizard; Spock vaporizes rock and smashes scissors; lizard eats paper and poisons Spock. Each move still has exactly two wins and two losses. Keep the matrix nearby for your first few rounds.
A worked round
Alex locks in Spock while Sam chooses lizard. Lizard beats Spock, so Sam wins. In a rematch Alex chooses paper and Sam chooses Spock: paper wins. Spock is not a trump card; its two losing matchups are paper and lizard. If both players choose Spock, the round ties like any other matching pair.
Tie rates and fair choices
There are 5 moves for each player, so there are 5 × 5 = 25 possible ordered pairs of moves. Exactly 5 pairs match. If both players choose independently and each move is equally likely, the tie rate is 5/25 = 1/5, or 20%.
Compared with classic RPS, the random tie rate falls from 1/3 to 1/5: about 13.3 percentage points, or 40% fewer ties. If you replay every tie with fresh independent random choices, a decision takes an average of 1/(1 − 1/5) = 1.25 rounds, compared with 1.5 rounds for classic RPS. Adding choices reduces replays without giving either player better odds of the eventual win.
Under the same assumptions, each player wins 40% of rounds. No move is inherently stronger: each beats 2 and loses to 2. 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
Sam Kass credits himself and Karen Bryla with creating Rock Paper Scissors Lizard Spock. Their five-move extension adds two choices while preserving a balanced game: every move beats two others and loses to two. Kass’s original page also acknowledges its appearance on The Big Bang Theory. You may see Spock and Lizard in either order in the name; the winning relationships are what matter.
Read more: Sam Kass’s original RPSLS page.
How to play Rock Paper Scissors Lizard Spock with a friend
- Create your contest. Choose Rock Paper Scissors Lizard Spock, 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 Lizard Spock
What beats what in Rock Paper Scissors Lizard Spock?
Rock beats Scissors and Lizard. Paper beats Rock and Spock. Scissors beats Paper and Lizard. Spock beats Rock and Scissors. Lizard beats Paper and Spock. Matching moves tie.
How likely is a tie?
With independent, uniformly random choices, 5 of the 25 possible ordered pairs are ties: 1 in 5. Human habits can change the observed rate. Matching moves always tie; the creator can start another round.
Can I play Rock Paper Scissors Lizard Spock 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 Lizard Spock 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.