A game that transcends language barriers, a game to settle disputes, a game… which is so simple, yet has a profound historical legacy. A game of rock, paper and scissors…
Primarily originated in China, it was then subsequently imported into Japan, where the game gained its modern standardized form. Then, it became spread throughout the world in the early 20th century.
It is a zero-sum game* played between two people, where there are three possible outcomes. 1) Draw, 2) Win, 3) Loss. In simplest words: Rock beats scissors, paper beats rock, and Scissors beats paper.
The first mention of the game was in the book Wuzazu by the Ming-dynasty. It was written that the game dated back to the time of Han dynasty, and it was called Shoushiling. The game was introduced to Japan from China and became known as sansukumi-ken, meaning "fist games of the three who fear one another" (for example: A beats B, B beats C, and C beats A). The earliest Japanese version, mushi-ken, was adapted directly from China, featuring the "frog" (thumb) defeating the "slug" (little finger), the "slug" defeating the "snake" (index finger), and the "snake" defeating the "frog." A mistranslation caused the slug to replace the venomous centipede from the Chinese version.
Another popular Japanese variant, kitsune-ken, features a supernatural fox (kitsune) defeating the village head, the village head defeating the hunter, and the hunter defeating the fox. Kitsune-ken differs from mushi-ken and rock-paper-scissors as it uses two-handed gestures.
Today’s best-known version in Japan, jan-ken, evolved from Chinese games introduced in the 17th century. Using rock, paper, and scissors signs, jan-ken became the foundation for the modern rock-paper-scissors, popularized during the late 19th century between the Edo and Meiji periods.
Overtime the game has gotten more popular leading for some enthusiastic players to developed new versions of the game. Whether it is to add new weapons or adapting rules. Rock paper scissors minus one can be given as an example. It is a variation that appeared in the second season of Squid Game. This variation is similar to Russian roulette, that’s why I won’t be giving the details of the game. Another example is pierre, papier, ciseaux, puits (stone, paper, scissors, well). The game is the same except for the well. Well beats stone and scissors, while it is beaten by paper. Other variations are rock, paper, scissors, Spock, lizard and rock, paper, scissors, fire, water. The gameplays are advised to be searched online.
Interestingly, there are analogues in real life dedicated to the game. One is lizard mating strategies in common side-blotched lizards. It follows a rock-paper-scissors dynamic in mating, with orange males outcompeting blue, blue outcompeting yellow, and yellow outcompeting orange, in competition for females. There are a few more examples to this topic.
Long story short, rock paper scissors has been a game that kept people busy for a very long time. Whether if it is used to dismantle disputes, having fun, or being a research topic; this game has been an indispensable tool.
A zero-sum game in game and economic theory is a competition where one player's gain is exactly balanced by the other's loss, resulting in no net benefit.