Editing Rock paper scissors (section)

{{Short description|Hand game for two players or more}}
{{Other uses|Rock paper scissors (disambiguation)}}
{{redirect|Ro Sham Bo|the album by The Grays|Ro Sham Bo (album){{!}}''Ro Sham Bo'' (album)}}
{{Infobox game
| italic title = no
|name=| image = Rock-paper-scissors.svg
| image_caption = 
| years =
| genre = [[Hand game]]
| players = 2 (or more)
| setup_time = None
| playing_time = seconds
| random_chance = High
}}

'''Rock''', '''Paper''', '''Scissors''' (also known by [[#Names|several other names and word orders]]) is an [[Intransitive game|intransitive]] [[hand game]], usually played between two people, in which each player simultaneously forms one of three shapes with an outstretched hand. These shapes are "rock" (a closed fist: &#9994;), "paper" (a flat hand: &#128400;), and "scissors" (a fist with the index finger and middle finger extended, forming a V: &#9996;). The earliest form of "rock paper scissors"-style game originated in [[China]] and was subsequently imported into [[Japan]], where it reached its modern standardized form, before being spread throughout the world in the early 20th century.

A [[simultaneous game|simultaneous]], [[zero-sum game]], it has three possible outcomes: a draw, a win, or a loss. A player who decides to play rock will beat another player who chooses scissors ("rock crushes scissors" or "breaks scissors" or sometimes "blunts scissors"<ref>{{cite book |last1=Fisher |first1=Len |title=Rock, Paper, Scissors: Game Theory in Everyday Life |date=2008 |publisher=Basic Books |isbn=9780786726936 |page=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780465009381/page/92 92] |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780465009381 |url-access=registration |language=en}}</ref>), but will lose to one who has played paper ("paper covers rock"); a play of paper will lose to a play of scissors ("scissors cuts paper"). If both players choose the same shape, the game is tied, but is usually replayed until there is a winner.

Rock paper scissors is often used as a fair choosing method between two people, similar to [[coin flipping]], [[drawing straws]], or throwing [[dice]] in order to settle a dispute or make an unbiased group decision. Unlike truly [[randomness|random]] selection methods, however, rock paper scissors can be played with some degree of skill by recognizing and exploiting non-random behavior in opponents.<ref>{{cite book|last=Fisher|first=Len|title=Rock, paper, scissors: game theory in everyday life|url=https://archive.org/details/rockpaperscissor00fish_354|url-access=limited|year=2008|publisher=Basic Books|isbn=9780786726936|page=[https://archive.org/details/rockpaperscissor00fish_354/page/n106 94]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-27228416|title=How to win at rock-paper-scissors|work=BBC News|date=2 May 2014|access-date=2 May 2015|archive-date=6 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150506084058/http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-27228416|url-status=live}}</ref>