Roshambo Rules

Basics

• Two players face each other and simultaneously present one of three hand gestures to each other: a clenched fist (representing the rock), a flat hand (representing the paper) or two extended fingers (representing the scissors). Each gesture beats one gesture and is beaten by the other. Rock beats scissors, scissors beats paper, paper beats rock. The player who presents a gesture that beats the other player's gesture wins. If both players present the same gesture, the game is a draw.

Presenting

• Players often present their gestures on a count of three, either on three or right after three. Typically, the player will swing their forearms in unison, from a raised fist posture to an extended fist posture, three times and present one of three gestures at the end of the third swing. Some choose to count "one, two, three" as they swing; some chant "rock, paper, scissors" or "ro-sham-bo." As a decision-making tool, the game is often played three times, with the winner of two of the three rounds declared the overall winner.

Tournament Rules

• While the basic rules are simple, more complex rules are sometimes used. The World RPS Society maintains a detailed set of rules used in its tournaments. According to its rules, the fist pumping is called "the prime" and should be executed as a 90 degree arc toward the shoulder from a full horizontal extension of the arm.

Variations

• In Japan, where the game is said by some to have been invented around 200 B.C. and called janken, several versions of the game have been used. Each one is played with rules that are identical to Rock, Paper, Scissors except that the elements are different. One such game uses a village chief, a tiger, and the mother of the chief. An Indonesian version uses an elephant, an ant, and a person. The French play a version using a stone, scissors and a well. The Vietnamese use a hammer, a nail and paper.

'Sack Tapping'

• The word roshambo is also used as another name for a game often called "sack tapping." In this game, two males take turns kicking each other in the groin until one of them falls down, with the one left standing being the winner. This use of the term seems to have originated from an episode of the Comedy Central cartoon South Park, where one of the characters describes the rules for "sack tapping" but calls it "roshambo" instead. This game sometimes results in serious injury that requires surgery or amputation.