Ultimate Japanese Rock Paper Scissors

Oh, you think you can play rock, paper, scissors? Sure you do, kid; I seen a million others just like you. Yeah, you know a rule, but do you know all of them? Didn't think so.

So there're the basic rock paper scissors rules. Rock breaks scissors, scissors cut paper, paper covers rock. Rethrow in case of a tie.

Sure, everybody knows that. If you've taken some Japanese, you might know that this game is very common in Japan, and is used as a minor decision-making tool much more often than here. In Japan, it's called "Jan ken pon".

Both players chant "jan, ken, pon" and on the "pon", throw down. In case of a tie, the chant becomes "Ai-ko-desho". The game can end here, but if you're playing Ultimate Championship Jan Ken Pon, it doesn't. Instead, the winner of the first stage, (the rock paper scissors part) chants "Acchi muite hoi!" and then points in one of four directions (on the "hoi!"): up, down, left, or right. The same instant that the point happens, the other player has to turn their head in one of the four aforementioned directions. If the looker looked in the same direction as the pointer, then the pointer wins. If not, then the round is a draw and you go back to Jan ken pon.

For a real challenge, play best two out of three. The faster this game is played, the more of an art it becomes. My Friend Chris is a rank 10 grandmaster, and My Friend Beau is even better than Chris - which puts Beau almost even with most Japanese players. But not quite. Yumi is just a hair faster than all of us, which means we get confused and slip up. Unless you can think quickly and calculate the winner of standard jan ken pon instantly, the extended rules are going to be a problem.