Rock Paper Scissors Lizard Spock
Rock Paper Scissors Lizard Spock is a five-shape expansion of the classic game. Adding two shapes dramatically cuts the chance of a tie, because each shape now beats two of the others and loses to the remaining two.
The five shapes
Rock, Paper, and Scissors are joined by Lizard (a hand puppet shape) and Spock (the Star Trek "live long and prosper" salute).
All ten win conditions
- Scissors cuts Paper
- Paper covers Rock
- Rock crushes Lizard
- Lizard poisons Spock
- Spock smashes Scissors
- Scissors decapitates Lizard
- Lizard eats Paper
- Paper disproves Spock
- Spock vaporizes Rock
- Rock crushes Scissors
A handy way to remember it: each shape "beats" the two listed where it appears first - for example Spock both smashes Scissors and vaporizes Rock, but is poisoned by Lizard and disproven by Paper.
Where it came from
The variation was popularised by the TV show The Big Bang Theory, but it was designed earlier by Sam Kass and Karen Bryla as a way to reduce the number of tied games between people who play often - the more shapes, the less likely two players pick the same one.
Prefer the original three shapes? Read the classic Rock Paper Scissors rules or play a game now.