Rock Paper Scissors
| Hand | Beats | Loses to |
|---|---|---|
| ✊ Rock | Scissors | Paper |
| ✋ Paper | Rock | Scissors |
| ✌ Scissors | Paper | Rock |
Pick your hand, the computer throws a fair random one, and the score keeps running across rounds - wins, losses and ties, persisted in your browser so the tally survives a refresh. The history line shows the last ten throws of each side, which is where the game gets interesting: people are terrible at being random, and the history makes it obvious whether you (or the machine) have fallen into a pattern.
The computer's hand is a fresh fair draw every round - no pattern hunting, no counter-programming, the same odds as a clean physical throw. That makes this the honest practice partner for the real thing: the only exploitable pattern at this table is a human one, and the history strip is the evidence locker. Everything runs in this browser tab; nothing uploads and no account exists.
How to use
- Click rock, paper or scissors - the computer throws instantly and the score updates.
- Watch the history strip: the last ten throws of each side expose any accidental pattern.
- The tally persists between visits on this device; it is your record, kept locally.
Frequently asked questions
What beats what in rock paper scissors?
Rock crushes scissors, scissors cut paper, paper covers rock - three weapons, each beating exactly one and losing to exactly one, which is what makes the game fair: pick at random and you win a third, lose a third, tie a third. Every triangle game from this to Pokemon type charts runs on the same balanced shape.
Is the computer cheating?
No - each round the computer draws uniformly from the three hands with a fresh random number, no memory of your throws and no counter-strategy. The odds are the same as playing a friend who shakes and picks honestly. If the score looks lopsided over twenty rounds, that is streak mathematics, not malice - runs of four or five identical results are ordinary.
Can I predict the computer's next throw?
Not from this version - the draws are independent, so no history contains information about the next hand. Against human opponents the answer changes: people under-repeat their last throw and over-cycle rock-paper-scissors in order, which is why the history strip here is a training tool - learn to spot your own pattern before someone else does.
What is the best first throw in rock paper scissors?
Against inexperienced humans, statistics favor paper slightly - inexperienced players tend to open with rock, the game's namesake and the fist that feels default. Against a random machine it does not matter at all: every first throw has identical odds. This page is the machine case, so open with whatever feels lucky.
Where did the game come from?
The hand game is ancient - Chinese sources describe it as shoushiling by the 1600s, and Japan's jan-ken spread it worldwide before 1900. The three-weapon triangle is the reason it works as an arbiter: no dominant option, quick rounds, no equipment. The names moved (jan-ken-pon became rock-paper-scissors in the English world) but the geometry never changed.