Rules for Rock-Paper-Scissors
Calculator
Gameplay
New players start with 0 (battle, round) (wins, losses, ties), score, and streak.
Round
In a round, these phases occur:
- Intermission
- Move selection
- Damage calculation
- Battle execution
- Score calculation
Intermission
A 5-second intermission between rounds allows new players to join and current players to review the previous round's results.
Move selection
Every player has four options: pick Rock, Paper, Scissors, or Auto. If Auto is selected, the game replaces the player's choice: one of the first three is randomly selected, or if the player has a streak bonus, an optimal choice is made automatically.
Damage calculation
When two moves are the same, the result is always a tie.
This phase calculates the results of the other possible move pairs. By default,
- Rock beats Scissors
- Scissors beats Paper
- Paper beats Rock
If Inverted is on, the defaults are reversed. If Count is on, when a pair of moves is chosen by a different number of players, the one with more players never loses (see below for more details).
Battle execution
Unless modified by Team or Survivor, all N(N-1)/2 pairs of N participating players battle each other. After that, players have wins, losses, and ties within the round.
Score calculation
Players win, lose, or tie the round by comparing wins and losses in that round's battles. The table shows the effect on their streak and score.
| Wins vs Losses | Outcome | Effect on Streak | Effect on Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Equal | the round is a tie | none | none |
| More wins | the player wins the round | streak becomes 0 if previously negative, and is then incremented | gain 1 score point, adjusted by streak bonuses |
| More losses | the player loses the round | streak becomes 0 if previously positive, and is then decremented | lose 1 score point |
Streak Bonuses
Unless Classic is on, these reward lucky players that win repeatedly, and they also help unlucky players recover from their losses:
- +3 or higher: score multiplier = (streak - 1)
- -5 or lower: if no choice is made, an optimal choice is automatically made (not available if Team is active)
Time Control
Intermissions last up to 5 seconds, ending early if all players are ready.
Each round lasts a variable amount of time (3-30 seconds, default 5).
Options
Round Time / ms (default: 5000, min: 3000, max: 30000)
A random move will be made after the round timer expires.
Bot Balance (default: 0, min: -1000, max: 1000)
If negative, balance total players to absolute value; otherwise, add this number of bots.
Classic (ancient, no streak bonuses, default: off)
Streak bonuses are not used, but streaks are still calculated as usual.
Inverted (reverse default damage direction, default: off)
The default damage direction is reversed. By this new default, rock beats paper, which beats scissors, which beats rock.
- Rock beats Paper
- Paper beats Scissors
- Scissors beats Rock
Count (larger number never loses, default: off)
If more people choose a type of move than another one, the loss is negated. If at least twice as many people choose a normally losing move compared to a normally winning move, the damage direction is reversed. Consider these examples:
- 3 players pick rock, and 3 players picks paper: rock loses to paper, as usual.
- 4 players pick rock, and 3 players picks paper: rock ties with paper.
- 5 players pick rock, and 3 players picks paper: rock ties with paper, again.
- 6 players pick rock, and 3 players picks paper: rock beats paper.
The effects of Count apply after the effects of Inverted.
Team (default: 0, future feature)
No pair of players on the same team battle each other; battles apply only to pairs of players on different teams.
Cancel (reduce common amounts, default: off, future feature)
Score calculation is done as if 3 players who chose rock, paper, scissors are removed until no move has more than 1 player remaining.
Survivor (elimination rounds, default: off, future feature)
- Players that just joined recently start with zero health points.
- Players that just lost a round lose one health point.
- Players that have zero health points cannot participate.
- When only one survivor (or zero) remains, all player health points are reset to a positive number.