Janken

Janken (Ja. 両拳) is "rock paper scissors," Japanese-style. The rules are nearly identical to the international game. Two players chant "jan ken pon!" while pumping their fists. On "pon," the players show a fist ("rock"), index and middle fingers extended in a V ("scissors"), or all fingers extended ("paper"). The exchange is won as determined by the rules:

1. Scissors cuts Paper
2. Paper wraps Rock
3. Rock breaks Scissors

Ties are broken by repeated plays, either accompanied by three more fist pumps with "ai kode sho!" ("isn't that the same!") or the more rapid single-pump with "pon!". Somehow, long chains of draws aren't uncommon, suggesting that many players draw upon some shared psychology/strategy when choosing tiebreaker signs. "Jan ken pon! Pon! Pon! Pon! Pon! Pon! Pon! Gyaaa!/Yattaa!! (arrgh!/I did it!)"

The internet is clogged with on-line and stand-alone versions of this game, written in Flash, Java or JavaScript, etc.