Janken: Japanese rock paper scissors

How to play janken

• Both players hold out a fist and say "jan, ken" together.
• On "pon!" each shows rock (a fist), scissors (two fingers) or paper (an open hand).
• Rock crushes scissors, scissors cut paper, paper wraps rock.
• Same hands are a tie: call "aiko desho!" and throw again straight away.

The names of the hands

In Japanese the hands are guu (グー, rock), choki (チョキ, scissors) and paa (パー, paper). Children everywhere in Japan know them before they can read, and many of the other games on this page reuse them.

Where janken comes from

Japan has played "ken" hand games for centuries, many of them brought from China. Janken took its modern shape in Japan in the 19th century, from older games like Mushi-ken in which three animals beat each other in a circle. In the 20th century it travelled the world as rock paper scissors.

Janken strategy

A truly random player can't be beaten in the long run, but people aren't random. Many players lean on rock, players who just lost often switch to the hand that would have beaten them, and few people throw the same hand three times in a row. Watch for habits, and hide your own.

Playing janken on Janken

Pick best of 1, 3 or 5 and get paired with a player near your rating. Every format has its own Elo rating and leaderboard. You can also practise against seven bots, each with its own trick, or send a friend a link and play them directly.

Questions