Rock Paper Scissors Online
Play rock paper scissors online against the computer: pick your move, the computer answers instantly and the score keeps count. Choose first to 3, 5 or 10 wins, and whether your opponent plays purely at random or smart.
Source: W3C Recommendation, W3C Web Cryptography API – getRandomValues(). Updated: .
How it is calculated
Rock paper scissors rules
- Rock beats scissors – rock blunts scissors.
- Scissors beat paper – scissors cut paper.
- Paper beats rock – paper covers rock.
If both pick the same, the round is a tie. Every hand beats exactly one other hand and loses to exactly one, so none is better than the others. With friends you count "rock, paper, scissors, shoot" and show your hands at the same time.
Fair random or smart opponent?
Random (fair): the computer picks each hand with probability 1/3, using the browser's cryptographically secure randomness. Game theory says this is the only strategy that cannot be exploited – in the long run you win about a third of the rounds and tie another third.
Smart: people do not play randomly. In an experiment with 360 students at Zhejiang University, each playing 300 rounds, winners repeated their move more often, while losers tended to switch to the hand that would have beaten the last winning move (Wang, Xu & Zhou 2014). The smart computer expects this pattern and counters it two times out of three; the rest stays random so that it cannot be read either.
How to beat the smart computer
- After a win, don't stubbornly repeat the same hand.
- After a loss, don't automatically pick the counter to the computer's last move.
- The hardest player to beat is one who plays at random – for example by rolling a die (1–2 rock, 3–4 paper, 5–6 scissors).
The statistics below the game count every round since you opened the page; "New game" only resets the score. Keys 1, 2 and 3 let you play without a mouse. For other quick decisions try flip a coin, spin the wheel or tic-tac-toe against the computer.
Frequently asked questions
How does rock paper scissors lizard Spock work?
Each of the five moves beats two others: scissors beat paper and lizard, paper beats rock and Spock, rock beats scissors and lizard, lizard beats Spock and paper, Spock beats scissors and rock. Choose the variant “With lizard and Spock”; the rule diagram is under “What beats what?”.
Can two people play on the same device?
Yes. Set the opponent to “Two players on one device”. Player 1 picks a move without showing it, then Player 2 – only then are both moves revealed and the point counted.
What beats what in rock paper scissors?
Rock beats scissors, scissors beat paper, paper beats rock. If both show the same hand, it is a tie.
Is there a winning strategy?
Not against a truly random opponent – then every hand wins a third of the time. Against people, patterns help: winners often repeat their move, losers often switch.
Does the computer cheat?
No. It chooses before it knows your move: at random in fair mode, and only from the previous round in smart mode.
What is rock paper scissors called in other countries?
In Japan it is janken, in Germany "Schere, Stein, Papier", in France "pierre, feuille, ciseaux". The rules are the same everywhere.
Can I play best of 3 or best of 5?
Choose "Play to 3 wins" or "5 wins": whoever gets there first wins the match, and "New game" starts a rematch.
Sources and legal basis
- W3C Recommendation: W3C Web Cryptography API – getRandomValues()
- MDN Web Docs – Crypto.getRandomValues()
- Wikipedia – Rock paper scissors, section “Additional weapons”: Rock Paper Scissors Lizard Spock, invented by Sam Kass and Karen Bryla (rules of the five-move variant)
- Wang, Xu & Zhou (2014): Social cycling and conditional responses in the Rock-Paper-Scissors game, Scientific Reports 4, 5830 (arXiv:1404.5199) – 360 Teilnehmende, Gewinner wiederholen, Verlierer wechseln
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