Rock Paper Scissors is played almost everywhere, but it goes by different names and sometimes different gestures. In Japan it is jan-ken, in Korea gawi-bawi-bo (with a harder follow-on game called muk-jji-ppa), and in Indonesia a finger version pits an elephant, a person and an ant against each other. Many of these descend from a family of East Asian hand games that is older than the rock-paper-scissors form itself.
Where it started
The earliest written mention usually cited is from China. In the Ming dynasty book Wuzazu, the writer Xie Zhaozhe described a hand game of this kind and claimed it dated back to the Han dynasty (206 BCE to 220 CE). That claim of Han origins is his, written well over a thousand years later, so treat it as tradition rather than proof.
Hand games of this three-way type reached Japan in the 17th century as Chinese drinking games, popularized through Chinese communities in Nagasaki. The Japanese call the family sansukumi-ken: "ken" meaning fist games, and "sansukumi" describing three parties that each hold one another in check. Our history page covers the longer story.
Japan: jan-ken and its ancestors
Jan-ken is the rock-paper-scissors form, and today it is the one sansukumi-ken game still widely played in Japan. It was carried to the West in the 20th century. Two older members of the family:
| Game | Throws | Cycle |
|---|---|---|
| Mushi-ken | Frog (thumb), slug (little finger), snake (index finger) | Frog beats slug, slug beats snake, snake beats frog |
| Kitsune-ken | Fox, village head, hunter | Fox beats village head, village head beats hunter, hunter beats fox |
Mushi-ken is thought to be the oldest. The Chinese original reportedly used a centipede where the Japanese version has a slug, probably because of a mix-up between similar characters. Kitsune-ken was the most popular in its day and was played with both hands: hands on the knees for the village head, an imaginary rifle for the hunter, and open hands, palms up, for the fox.
Korea: gawi-bawi-bo and muk-jji-ppa
The standard game is gawi-bawi-bo (scissors, rock, paper), played just like the Western version. The Korean twist is muk-jji-ppa, which starts from a normal round:
- Play one round of gawi-bawi-bo. The winner becomes the attacker.
- Both players keep throwing in rhythm. The attacker calls out a throw each time: muk (rock), jji (scissors) or ppa (paper).
- If the defender shows the same throw as the attacker, the attacker wins the game.
- If the throws differ, whoever wins that exchange becomes the new attacker, and play continues.
The mix of calling and throwing at speed makes it much harder than it sounds.
Indonesia: ant, person, elephant
Known as suit or suten, this version uses single fingers:
- Elephant (gajah): thumb
- Person (orang): index finger
- Ant (semut): little finger
Elephant tramples person, person squashes ant, and ant climbs into the elephant's ear. The structure is the same three-way cycle as rock paper scissors, only with different pictures.
China: tiger, stick, chicken
A folk version recorded in China uses a pair of chopsticks: players tap them together, then call tiger, stick or chicken at the same moment. Stick beats tiger, tiger eats chicken, and chicken pecks the stick. Some tellings add a fourth element, a worm, though versions differ and I haven't found a reliable source for a standard rule set.
Full-body versions
In English-speaking countries a whole-body version called Bear, Hunter, Ninja (and similar) is popular at camps and schools: players spin around into a pose instead of throwing a hand. More on this and other house variants in our variations guide.
What stays the same everywhere
Almost every version keeps two things: a count so both players commit at once, and a closed three-way cycle so no choice is best. That shared structure is why game theorists treat these games as one family (see game theory). If you want to try the classic form, you can play online.
FAQ
What is Rock Paper Scissors called in Japan?
Jan-ken, often with the chant "jan-ken-pon".
What is the Korean version of Rock Paper Scissors?
Gawi-bawi-bo for the basic game, and muk-jji-ppa for the extended attacker-and-defender version.
Did Rock Paper Scissors come from China?
The oldest written account is Chinese, and the three-way hand game family reached Japan from China, but the exact origin of the rock-paper-scissors form is not documented.