Rock Paper Scissors Variations
Rock, Paper, Scissors is just the beginning. There are over 50 documented variations of the game worldwide – some with additional symbols, others with entirely different rules.
Rock, Paper, Scissors, Well
The best-known extension in German-speaking countries adds the Well as a fourth symbol. The well swallows rock and scissors but is covered by paper. This variation is particularly popular among children, but introduces an imbalance: rock is weakened because it now loses to two symbols instead of just one.
Rock, Paper, Scissors, Lizard, Spock
The TV show The Big Bang Theory made this five-way variant world-famous. It was actually invented back in 1998 by Sam Kass and Karen Bryla. The rules: Scissors decapitates Lizard, Lizard eats Paper, Paper disproves Spock, Spock smashes Scissors, Scissors cuts Paper, Paper covers Rock, Rock crushes Lizard, Lizard poisons Spock, Spock vaporizes Rock, Rock crushes Scissors. Each symbol beats exactly two others and loses to exactly two others – perfectly balanced.
Asian Variations
In Japan, besides classic Jan-ken, there's also Mushi-ken (Frog-Slug-Snake) and Kitsune-ken (Fox-Village Chief-Hunter). In Indonesia, there's Suit with Elephant, Human, and Ant – the ant crawls into the elephant's ear and wins. In Malaysia, there's a version with Bird, Water, and Stone. The diversity shows how universal the game principle is.
Extreme Extensions
The most extreme variant is probably RPS-101 by David C. Lovelace, featuring an incredible 101 gestures – including exotic entries like Dragon, Alien, Devil, Sponge, and Chainsaw. Each gesture has exactly 50 win and 50 loss relationships. This is obviously played more as a thought experiment than a serious game.