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Rock, Paper, Scissors, also known as Rochambeau, Ching Chong Cha in South Africa and in Japan as Janken, is a hand game most often played by children. It was designed in Japan at the end of the nineteenth century and it was transmitted from Japan all over the world in the twentieth century. It is often used as a selection method in a similar way to coin flipping, Odd or Even, throwing dice or drawing straws to randomly select a person for some purpose, though unlike truly random selections it can be played with skill if the game extends over many sessions, because one can often recognize and exploit the non-random behavior of an opponent. Various sports may use Rock, Paper, Scissors to determine which team gets the opening play (rather than a coin toss). Similarly, uncertain calls, or even the whole game in case of rain, may be decided by the game. It is also often used as a method for creating appropriately non-biased random results in live action role-playing games, as it requires no equipment. Game play The players count together to 3 counts, most commonly either using the name of the game (e.g. Rock! Paper! Scissors! or Ro! Sham! Bo!) or simply numbers. At the end of the third count, the players simultaneously change their fists into any of three "objects", which they then "throw" by extending it towards their opponent: is delivered in the same manner as rock with the exception that the index and middle fingers are fully extended toward the opposing player. It is considered good form to angle the topmost finger upwards and the lower finger downwards in order to create a roughly 30–45 degree angle between the two digits and thus mimic a pair of scissors. The objective is to defeat the opponent by selecting a weapon which defeats their choice under the following rules: In International competition, the weapon is thrown on the fourth count ("1 ... 2 ... 3 ... THROW"). This is called "International Style". In "American Style", the weapon is thrown on the end of the third round, as in "Rock, Paper, Scissors(simultaneously with scissors)!". Typically, the game is played in a "best 2 out of 3" match. Cheating One of the first tricks learned by a Rock-Paper-Scissors novice is to hold back a throw of paper until the last possible moment to dupe an opponent into believing that one may actually be throwing a rock. Both paper and scissors have this ability; however, unless one is employing a "double-back" strategy, cloaking a paper throw is likely to draw an instinctive paper from one's opponent. A common variation on the opening ritual is to have both players hold their hands behind their backs and reveal their already formed throw after the count of three. The intention is to prevent any sort of timing based cheating. Another way to cheat is to prime three times instead, if the opponent primed twice only, the other could see his opponent's throw without revealing his own, claiming that he thought "I thought we are doing three primes". Note: 'priming' is the number of bounces one does before revealing the throw. Variations There are many different variations of Rock, Paper, Scissors which range from simple changes in the names of the objects to increasing the number of players or objects. While interesting, most rule variations suffer from one problem or another, making them less interesting games. A simple American variation is Cowboy, Bear, Ninja (Cowboy beating Bear, Bear beating Ninja, Ninja beating Cowboy). This version is performed with the players starting standing back to back, taking three paces in opposite directions and then turning and revealing their choice. Versions of Rock, Paper, Scissors are also observed in many different cultures. It is usually known by direct translations of "Rock, Paper, Scissors" although some cultures have slightly different names or even entirely different elements representing the different objects. For example in Japan there is a variation which uses a tiger, a chief and the chief's mother as the three elements (the tiger beating the chief's mother, the chief beating the tiger and the chief's mother beating the chief). In Indonesia another version is played with the elements as an elephant, a man and an ant (the elephant crushing the man, the man crushing the ant and ant humorously defeating the elephant by crawling into the animal's ear and making it go insane).• The Chinese, not counting Taiwanese, and Koreans use Cloth along with Rock and Scissors, while the Japanese have adopted Paper. Minor variation is also observed in the standard game play. When the game was made, the creator set the rules but one rule that was not passed on was that if one player has a score of zero and their opponent has more than one point then the player with zero will gain 2 points if they win the next round. It was excluded in the official rules since it was viewed as unfair. Rock paper scissors is also known as "paper scissors rock" in some areas of the America such as the region surronding Buffalo, NY Non-transitivity Rock, Paper, Scissors is also often used as an example of the mathematical concept of non-transitivity. A transitive relation R is one for which a R b and b R c implies a R c. A reflexive, antisymmetric, and transitive relation on a set is known as a partial ordering, from which notions of "greater" and "less" follow. A game option which is "greater" than another is closer to being optimal, but such a notion does not exist in Rock, Paper, Scissors: The relation used to determine which throws defeat which is non-transitive. Rock defeats Scissors, and Scissors defeat Paper, but Rock loses to Paper. In fact, Rock-Paper- Scissors could be called "antitransitive" because if A strictly defeats B, and B strictly defeats C, A necessarily loses against C. Commutativity and non-associativity Rock, Paper, Scissors also provides an example of a magma that is commutative but not associative, by defining a binary operation on the set in which the product of a pair is defined to be the "winner". Pop culture trivia Because of its widespread use by children and adults, Rock Paper Scissors has received substantial references in popular culture. Seinfeld, The Simpsons, and That 70s Show all poke fun at particular characters' incompetence at understanding the game rules. In other shows, mischievous characters are often able to "win" the game by deploying new objects which beat all the others and are subsequently able to convince their slow-witted competitor that deploying the new object is a legitimate move. In video games, intransitive relationships (like Rock, Paper, Scissors) often appear either in strategy choices or in weapons' abilities. "Rock is Dead. Long live Paper and Scissors." is a popular t-shirt among young people wishing to express disdain for the lack of quality rock music available. Federal case In 2006, Federal Judge Gregory Presnell from the Middle District of Florida ordered opposing sides in a lengthy court case to settle a trivial (but lengthily debated) point over the appropriate place for a deposition using the game of rock-paper-scissors.• The ruling in Avista Management v. Wausau Underwriters stated: * Auction house RPS match When Takashi Hashiyama, CEO of a Japanese television equipment manufacturer, decided to auction off the collection of Impressionist paintings owned by his corporation, including works by Cézanne, Picasso and van Gogh, he contacted two leading U.S. auction houses, Christie's International and Sotheby's Holdings, seeking their proposals on how they would bring the collection to the market as well as how they would maximize the profits from the sale. Both firms made elaborate proposals, but neither was persuasive enough to get Hashiyama’s business. Willing to split up the collection into separate auctions, Hashiyama asked the firms to decide between themselves who would get the Cézanne's "Large Trees Under the Jas de Bouffan", worth $12-16 million. They could not decide—enter Rock, Paper, Scissors. Hashiyama told the two firms to play RPS to decide who would get the rights to the auction, explaining, "It probably looks strange to others, but I believe this is the best way to decide between two things which are equally good." The auction houses had a weekend to come up with a choice. Christie's went to experts: 11-year-old twin daughters of an employee, who suggested "scissors" because "Everybody expects you to choose 'rock'." Sotheby's admitted that they treated it as a game of chance and had no particular strategy for the game, but went with "paper". Christie's won the match, with millions of commission that went to the auction house. Evolutionary strategy Biologist Barry Sinervo from the University of California, Santa Cruz has discovered a Rock-Paper-Scissors evolutionary strategy in the mating behaviour of the side-blotched lizard species Uta stansburiana. Males have either orange, blue or yellow throats and each type follows a fixed, heritable mating strategy:• The proportion of each male type in a population is similar in the long run, but fluctuates widely in the short term. For periods of 4-5 years, one strategy predominates, after which it declines in frequency as the strategy that manages to exploit its weakness increases. This corresponds to the stable pattern of the game in the replicator dynamics where the dynamical system follows closed orbits around the mixed strategy Nash equilibrium (Sinervo & Lively, 1996; Sinervo, 2001; Alonzo & Sinervo, 2001; Sinervo & Clobert, 2001; Sinervo & Zamudio, 2001). WRPS sanctioned tournaments Starting in 2002, the World Rock Paper Scissors Society (WRPS) standardized a set of rules for international play• and has overseen annual International World Championships. These open, competitive championships have been widely attended by players from around the world and have attracted widespread international media attention.••••• WRPS events are noted for their large cash prizes, elaborate staging, and colourful competitors.• In 2004, the championships were broadcast on the U.S. television network Fox Sports Net. Professional poker player Phil Gordon conducted what he called "The World Series of Rock-Paper-Scissors" during the 2005 World Series of Poker in which 64 contestants of the WSOP competed in a tournament similar to the NCAA tournament. World Championship results since 2002 Tour events In addition to the International World Championships the WRPS also endorses or sanctions a year-round series of tournaments world wide. "Endorsed" tournaments agree to abide by the WRPS standardized international rules of play and code of conduct, while "Sanctioned" tournaments will net the winner a trip to compete at the International World Championships. Some of the major events of this tour include: USARPS Tournaments USARPS League is an organization sponsored by Bud Light. USARPS has been often criticised by the World RPS Society for poor officiating. Matti Leshem is the co-commissioner of the USA Rock Paper Scissors League In April 2006, the inaugural USA Rock Paper Scissors League Championship was held in Las Vegas, Nevada. Following months of regional qualifying tournaments held across the US, 257 players were flown to Las Vegas for a single-elimination tournament at the House of Blues where the winner received $50,000. The tournament was shown on the A&E Network on June 12, 2006. At the first USA Rock Paper Scissors League Championship, "Drill" McGill defeated "Fast Twitch" Twitchel to win the tournament. 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