Play rock paper scissors online against a fair computer
This free rock paper scissors game lets you play the world’s favourite hand game against the computer in your browser — no download, no sign-up and no adverts between rounds. Choose rock, paper or scissors with a tap or a key press, watch both hands shake on “rock… paper… scissors…”, and see who wins with the reason spelled out.
Switch to Rock Paper Scissors Lizard Spock for the five-move variant, play a quick best-of-3 to settle an argument or an endless session to test a strategy, and follow your all-time record, win streaks and favourite moves in the stats panel.
The computer is genuinely fair. Its move is drawn from your browser’s cryptographic random number generator before your choice is looked at, with every option exactly equally likely, so there are no patterns to exploit and no hidden cheating.
How to use the Rock Paper Scissors
- Pick the Game: Classic, or + Lizard & Spock for five moves.
- Choose a Match length — best of 3, 5, 7 or 9, or Endless to just keep score.
- Tap Rock, Paper or Scissors, or press R, P or S (L for Lizard and K for Spock; number keys 1–5 also work).
- Read the result and the rule that decided it, and watch the match score update.
- When someone wins the match, play any move to start the next one, or press New match at any time.
Rock Paper Scissors features
Truly random opponent
Each computer move comes from crypto.getRandomValues with rejection sampling — a uniform 1-in-3 (or 1-in-5) choice that ignores your move.
Classic and Lizard–Spock
Switch between three-move and five-move rules; the result line always explains which rule applied.
Best-of matches
Best of 3, 5, 7 or 9 with first-to-N scoring, or endless play. Draws do not count towards the match.
Keyboard shortcuts
R, P, S, L and K (or 1–5) let you play quickly on a computer without touching the mouse.
Animated reveal
Both hands bounce three times before the reveal. Turn it off for instant results; it is skipped automatically if your device asks for reduced motion.
Stats and history
Win rate, current and best streak, matches won and how often you pick each move, saved only on your device.
Rock paper scissors rules
Both players reveal a hand shape at the same moment. Rock (a fist) crushes scissors, scissors (two fingers) cut paper, and paper (a flat hand) covers rock. The same shape on both sides is a draw and is replayed. In a best-of-3 match the first player to two wins takes it; best of 5 needs three wins, and so on.
The game goes by many names — roshambo, scissors paper stone, stone paper scissors in India, and jan-ken-pon in Japan, where versions of it are documented from the 1600s.
Rock Paper Scissors Lizard Spock rules
The five-move version was created by Sam Kass and Karen Bryla to cut down on draws between players who know each other well, and was made famous by the TV series The Big Bang Theory. Each move beats two others and loses to two others:
| Move | Beats | Loses to |
|---|---|---|
| ✊ Rock | Scissors (crushes), Lizard (crushes) | Paper, Spock |
| ✋ Paper | Rock (covers), Spock (disproves) | Scissors, Lizard |
| ✌️ Scissors | Paper (cuts), Lizard (decapitates) | Rock, Spock |
| 🦎 Lizard | Spock (poisons), Paper (eats) | Rock, Scissors |
| 🖖 Spock | Scissors (smashes), Rock (vaporizes) | Paper, Lizard |
Is there a winning strategy?
Against a truly random opponent, no. Game theory says the only unbeatable strategy is to choose each move with exactly equal probability — and that is precisely what this computer does. Whatever you play, you win a third of the time, lose a third and draw a third over the long run. Your stats panel will drift towards those numbers the more rounds you play.
Against people it is different, because humans are poor at being random. A 2014 study of hundreds of players by researchers at Zhejiang University found a “win-stay, lose-shift” habit: winners tended to repeat their move, while losers often switched to the move that would have beaten their last one. Many players also avoid repeating the same move three times in a row and open with rock. Use the history list here to check whether your own play is as random as you think.
Need a different way to make a fair decision? Try the Coin Flip for two options, the Dice Roller for board games, or the Spin the Wheel for a list of choices.
Rock Paper Scissors FAQ
Is the computer in this rock paper scissors game random or does it cheat?
It is random and does not cheat. The computer’s move is chosen with your browser’s cryptographic random number generator, with each option exactly equally likely, and the choice never depends on what you pressed.
What are the keyboard shortcuts?
Press R for rock, P for paper and S for scissors. In Lizard–Spock mode, L is lizard and K is Spock. The number keys 1 to 5 select the buttons in order.
How does best of 3 work?
The first player to win two rounds wins the match. Draws are replayed and do not count. Best of 5 needs three wins, best of 7 four wins and best of 9 five wins.
What beats what in Rock Paper Scissors Lizard Spock?
Scissors cuts paper, paper covers rock, rock crushes lizard, lizard poisons Spock, Spock smashes scissors, scissors decapitates lizard, lizard eats paper, paper disproves Spock, Spock vaporizes rock, and rock crushes scissors.
Can I turn off the animation?
Yes. Untick “Animate the reveal” for instant results. If your device has reduced motion turned on in its accessibility settings, the shake animation is skipped automatically.
Are my stats saved?
Your all-time stats are saved in this browser only, so they are still there next time. They are never uploaded, and “Reset stats” (click it twice) clears them.