Rock Paper Scissors Lizard Spock
Rock Paper Scissors Lizard Spock is rock paper scissors with five hands instead of three. Each hand beats two others and loses to the remaining two, so ties come up only one time in five instead of one in three.
The rules
- Scissors cut paper, and decapitate lizard.
- Paper covers rock, and disproves Spock.
- Rock crushes lizard, and crushes scissors.
- Lizard poisons Spock, and eats paper.
- Spock smashes scissors, and vaporizes rock.
The hands
Rock, paper and scissors are as usual. Lizard is a hand shaped like a mouth, and Spock is the Vulcan salute: fingers split in a V between the middle and ring fingers.
Where it comes from
The game was invented by Sam Kass and Karen Bryla to cut down on ties between people who know each other well, and became famous through the TV series The Big Bang Theory.
Playing it on Janken
All five hands are on the board, and each round shows who beat whom. Play to the best of 1, 3 or 5 against a bot or online. These games are casual.
Questions
Does Spock beat rock?
Yes: Spock vaporizes rock. Spock loses to lizard and paper.
Why add lizard and Spock?
With five hands two players pick the same one less often, so there are fewer ties.
Is it fair?
Yes. Every hand beats exactly two and loses to exactly two, so none is better than another.