A Rock Paper Scissors tournament is one of the cheapest fundraisers you can run: players pay to enter, the equipment is their hands, and anyone can take part regardless of age or fitness. The same simplicity makes RPS useful for team warm-ups and for settling small decisions fairly. Here is how to do each well.
Running an RPS charity fundraiser
Why it works
- No equipment and no skill barrier. A nine-year-old and a CEO start on equal terms.
- Fast. A 32-person bracket finishes in about an hour.
- Spectator friendly. Everyone understands what is happening, and the final is genuinely tense.
- Easy to add revenue. Entry fees plus a few add-ons (below) can make a small event worthwhile.
Step by step
- Set a goal and an entry fee. Work backwards: if you want to raise a set amount and expect 40 players, the entry fee follows. Keep it low enough that people enter on impulse.
- Pick a date and venue. A bar, school gym, office lobby or community hall all work. You need tables for matches and a clear spot for the final.
- Get a prize donated. A local business donating the winner's prize keeps all entry money for the cause and gives the sponsor visibility.
- Build the bracket. Single elimination, best of three. My tournament hosting guide has formats, rules and a timeline, and our free event tool will pair players for you.
- Promote it. Posters, the charity's newsletter, a staff email. "Play Rock Paper Scissors for a good cause" is easy to explain.
- Run the night with one referee per table and a printed rules sheet.
- Report back. Tell participants how much was raised and what it pays for.
Add-ons that raise more
| Add-on | How it works |
|---|---|
| Buy-back | Eliminated in round one? Pay again to re-enter a second-chance bracket. |
| Challenge the champion | After the final, anyone can pay to play the winner for one throw. |
| Team entries | Offices or clubs enter a team; best combined result wins bragging rights. |
| Costume bonus | A small discount for players in costume. Photos help next year's promotion. |
| Side bracket | A Lizard Spock bracket for early exits (rules on our variations page). |
Check your local rules before selling anything that looks like a raffle or a wager. Requirements differ by place, and a charity's own guidance is the right starting point.
Mistakes to avoid
- Rules made up on the night. Decide the count, late-throw rule and match length beforehand and print them. Most disputes start here.
- Too few referees. Volunteers who have never refereed need a five-minute briefing and one clear rule: when in doubt, replay the throw.
- A slow first round. With a big field, start several tables at once and post the bracket where everyone can see it.
- Forgetting the audience. Put the final on a stage or in the middle of the room and let the crowd pick sides. It is the moment most people remember.
Using RPS for team-building
Rock Paper Scissors will not transform a workplace, and I won't pretend it does. What it does well is break the ice and get people laughing in under five minutes. Some formats:
- Evolution. Everyone starts as an "egg" and plays anyone else who is an egg. Win and you become a "chicken" and may only play chickens; lose and you stay an egg. Keep going through a few stages. The room mixes quickly, and it works with 15 to 100 people.
- Cheerleader tournament. Losers become cheerleaders for the person who beat them, and follow them to their next match. By the final, half the room is chanting for each finalist.
- Team relay. Two lines face off; the loser of each throw goes to the back. Good for sports teams as a warm-up.
- Strategy debrief. After a best-of-ten, ask pairs what pattern they noticed in their partner. It is a light way to talk about how people make choices under pressure. Our psychology page has material for this.
Using RPS to make decisions
For a choice between two roughly equal options, a single throw is as fair as a coin toss, provided both people throw at the same moment. It is quick, and both sides feel they had a hand in the result.
The best-known example is from 2005, when a Japanese art collector, Takashi Hashiyama, could not choose between Christie's and Sotheby's to sell his collection and asked them to settle it with Rock Paper Scissors. Christie's chose scissors and won. The story is on our famous moments page.
Where it is a bad idea:
- Decisions with real consequences for other people. Hiring, money or safety deserve a proper process.
- Uneven options. If one choice is clearly better, a throw just adds a chance of picking the worse one.
- Repeated decisions between the same two people. Over many throws, habits show up and the game stops being a pure coin toss. See is RPS luck or skill.
FAQ
How much can an RPS fundraiser raise?
It depends entirely on turnout, entry fee and add-ons. I don't have reliable figures from other events to quote, so plan from your own numbers.
Do we need a licence?
Possibly, if you sell tickets for prizes or take wagers. Rules vary; check with your local authority or the charity's own guidance.
Is a Rock Paper Scissors decision fair?
For a single simultaneous throw between two people, yes, roughly as fair as a coin flip.