How to play Rock Paper Scissors
Rock Paper Scissors Arena is the classic hand game as a best-of-5 showdown against the computer. Press Start, then throw Rock, Paper or Scissors each round. Rock crushes Scissors, Scissors cuts Paper, and Paper covers Rock — matching throws draw and score for nobody. The first side to 3 round wins takes the match; if nobody reaches 3 within five rounds, the higher score wins, and a level score is declared a draw. Your pick locks in instantly while the CPU shuffles before revealing, with a running history recording every round.
Controls
Click the Rock, Paper or Scissors button — or press R, P or S — to throw your move; on mobile, just tap a button. ▶ Start Game begins a fresh match and ↺ Restart starts over at any time. Buttons pause briefly during the CPU reveal so rounds resolve cleanly.
Tips & strategy
The computer picks completely at random every round, so there is no pattern to read — which means the best strategy is to stay unpredictable yourself. Avoid habits like always leading with Rock or repeating your last winning move, since humans (and your own instincts) love patterns. Treat each round as independent: a loss does not make a win "due". Decide your move before the animation finishes so you play at a steady rhythm instead of overthinking each throw.
Scoring
Each round win scores 1 point, shown live as "You X — Y CPU". Winning a match adds 1 to your all-time Matches won total, saved in your browser and shown beside the score. Drawn rounds and drawn matches score nothing. There is no timer and no penalty for taking your time — just out-throw the CPU three times before it out-throws you.