To play rock paper scissors with Alexa, say "Alexa, open Rock Paper Scissors" (or "Alexa, play Rock Paper Scissors"). If that does not start a game, open the Alexa app, search the Skills store for "rock paper scissors," enable one of the skills listed, and then say "Alexa, open" followed by that skill's exact name.
Rock paper scissors on Alexa is not one official Amazon game. It is a set of third-party skills built by independent developers, which is why the exact command and the experience differ between devices and countries.
Step by step
- Check your device. Any Echo speaker or Echo Show, or the Alexa app on a phone, can run skills.
- Try the simple command first. "Alexa, play Rock Paper Scissors." Alexa may start a skill directly or suggest one.
- If nothing happens, enable a skill. In the Alexa app, find Skills and Games, search "rock paper scissors," pick one, read its description, and enable it.
- Use the skill's own name. Each skill has an invocation name shown on its page, for example "Rock, Paper, Scissors, Shoot!" Say "Alexa, open" plus that name.
- Play. When Alexa prompts you, say "rock," "paper" or "scissors." Alexa announces its throw and the result.
- Stop. Say "Alexa, stop" when you are done. Some skills read out the score first.
What the skills are like
At the time of writing, the Alexa Skills store lists several rock paper scissors skills from different developers, including basic three-throw versions and a Rock Paper Scissors Lizard Spock version. They share a few traits:
- You say your throw out loud. Alexa does not see your hand.
- Alexa picks its throw by whatever method the developer chose, usually presented as random. There is no strategy to learn from it.
- Some keep score across a session and report wins, losses and ties at the end.
Because skills come from independent developers, they can be renamed, updated or withdrawn at any time, and Amazon has changed how Alexa handles skills over the years. If a command in an older guide no longer works, that is almost always why. Search the store for what is available in your region today.
If Alexa does not understand you
- Say the skill name exactly as written on its store page.
- Wait for the prompt before saying your throw. Speaking over Alexa is the most common reason a throw is missed.
- Check the skill is enabled for the account your Echo uses.
- Check your region. Some skills are published only in certain countries' stores.
- Try a different skill if one keeps mishearing you.
Is voice rock paper scissors the real game?
Only partly. Saying your throw removes the two things that make the physical game interesting: the simultaneous reveal and the chance to read an opponent's habits. Alexa answers after hearing you, so fairness depends entirely on the skill choosing its throw independently. It is fine for passing time with kids or settling a quick argument, but it is not practice for playing against people.
Other ways to play when nobody is around
- Play in a browser. You can play rock paper scissors online free against the computer or other people. On wrpsa.com, the computer's throw is committed before your input is accepted, and you can verify each round afterwards.
- Learn the five-throw version. If you tried a Lizard Spock skill, our Rock Paper Scissors Lizard Spock guide explains the rules.
- Brush up on the basics. Our how to play page covers the count, the hand shapes and ties.
FAQ
Does Alexa have a built-in rock paper scissors game?
Rock paper scissors on Alexa runs through third-party skills rather than a single Amazon-made game. Saying "Alexa, play Rock Paper Scissors" may launch or suggest one.
Can Alexa play Rock Paper Scissors Lizard Spock?
There is a Lizard Spock skill in the store. Search for it by name in the Alexa app.
Can Alexa cheat?
Alexa hears your throw before it answers, so in principle a skill could. Skills present their choices as random, but there is no way to verify that from the outside.