Rock Paper Scissors

Rock Paper Scissors is one of the oldest games used for making decisions in human existence. Also known as Jan-Ken-Pon, Rochambeau (sometimes spelled Roshambo), Rock Paper Scissors is distinguished by its simplicity. No special materials are required—only fingers on a hand. And unlike tossing coins or drawing straws, which depend on random luck, Rock Paper Scissors can be a game of skill, requiring quick thinking.

The origins of Rock Paper Scissors remain obscure, in part because there are neither tangible artifacts nor written documents typically associated with the game. Nevertheless, there is evidence that a similar finger-throwing game (in which two players simultaneously display a number of their fingers) was played in Egypt as early as 2000 b.c.E. The idea of three distinct gestures made with the hand and fingers seems to have emerged in eastern Asia (China, Japan, and/or Korea) by c.200 b.c.E., where each gesture represented one of three competing entities. The entities themselves varied; they could be snake, frog, slug; elephant, human, earwig; chief, gun, fox; or rock, paper, scissors. However, by the mid-18th century in Europe, the latter group was most common, and the basic principles already determined: rock (represented by closed fist) breaks or dulls scissors, paper (represented by flat hand) covers [Page 604]rock, and scissors (represented by two extended fingers) cut paper.

For reasons that remain uncertain, the game became associated with Jean Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, Count of Rochambeau (1725–1807). Legend has it that Rochambeau joined the Continental Army in the American Revolution after losing his French home in a game of Rock Paper Scissors. That is why he is given credit for introducing the game to the United States, and why it may be known as Rochambeau or Roshambo.

The legend of Rochambeau illustrates some of the high stakes for which the game may be played. For instance, in 2005 a Japanese electronics company used the game to determine whether the sale of its $20 million collection of art would be handled by the Christie's or Sotheby's auction houses. It took only one round for Christie's scissors to defeat Sotheby's paper. More commonly, however, the game is played to determine who should purchase the next round of drinks, who should carry the trash outside, or who on the playground is the most skillful and adept.

The issue of skill is one that fans of the game are eager to promote, maintaining that the competition hinges on predicting your opponent's moves while preventing your opponent from predicting yours. Accordingly, the most successful players are those who are able not only to keep track of their opponent's previous throws but also quickly calculate the odds of future throws, based in part on their opponent's psychological profile. Players who are aggressive (and males in general) are said to throw the rock most frequently—and to repeat the rock when losing. Players with passive-aggressive tendencies are more likely to lead with paper. Players known for their confidence, craftiness, and control seem to favor scissors. Moreover, there are well-known gambits, which the most skillful players are able either to anticipate from their opponents or to plan as their own winning strategy: the aggressive Avalanche of rock, rock, rock; the devious Scissor Sandwich of paper, scissors, paper; or the slow-building Crescendo of paper, scissors, rock.

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