Rock Paper Scissors
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| Rock Paper Scissors

When it comes to resolving disputes, Rock Paper Scissors is the universally accepted solution. Sure, there's always the binary outcome of flipping a coin or the all-inclusive practice of drawing straws, but what if you don't happen to have a coin or a bunch of straws on your person? Why, you revert to Rock Paper Scissors, of course (we'll discount the dark art of the thumb war, as it tends to favour the freakishly proportioned and double-jointed among us).

Of course, another thing that RPS has going for it over the other two is that it's pretty good fun. Before pocket gaming came along, if you were stuck in a lift or stranded at a train station with a buddy you might revert to the classic three-gesture game of second guessing to pass the time. It was grim.

Moderately amusing though it can be, however, it's difficult to see how the simplistic ritual could succeed as a video game. Fortunately, Redboss Games has gone down a far more interesting route with its own Rock Paper Scissors. Taking the core principle of rock beating scissors, which beats paper, which tops rock, the developer has equipped a couple of cute ninja armies with the three attributes and set them against each other on a chess-like grid.

Whether you pick the red or the blue side, you'll have 14 soldiers at your disposal, 12 of which will be equipped with a paper, scissors or rock weapon. Of the remaining two, one will be designated by you as a trap – a decoy soldier that will take an enemy out if attacked. The final soldier is the flag bearer, equivalent to the king in chess. Lose this vital piece and you lose the game.

And so you take turns with your opponent, moving one of your soldiers a single square at a time. If you land on a square occupied by an enemy you engage in a Rock Paper Scissors battle, with the outcome dependent on the weapon each of you is carrying. The twist is that you don't know what your enemy is carrying until they have engaged in their first fight, and you don't know which soldier is the flag bearer.

As you can imagine, this leads to an extremely cagey and strategic game to start with as you probe and stretch your opponent's lines, looking to see if they are defending a certain area and trying to ensure that each of your men is backed up by soldiers carrying the other two elements. The winner is usually the one who covers their flag bearer well while launching a daring forward run with one or two soldiers.

There's also a traditional Rock Paper Scissors element when you clash with a soldier bearing the same weapon. When this happens, you sort the impasse out in time-honoured fashion, selecting one of the three titular elements from a menu and trusting to lady luck to decide the outcome.

This being an ICQ game, you wouldn't expect a particularly fully featured experience, and you'd be right. Single-player comprises three difficulty modes and an advanced mode, which hides each player's weapon soon after use. There's no campaign or level progression – just a record of how many games you've won and lost. The only other option is a handset-sharing two-player mode, which works as simply and effectively as you'd expect.

Rock Paper Scissors isn't going to keep you enthralled for hour upon hour. In fact, it's not quite ingenious enough to divert your attention much beyond an initial spurt of interest and the odd multiplayer dabble thereafter. But as a well made, nicely presented time filler, or as a means for deciding disputes with your friends, it sure beats tossing a coin.

Rock Paper Scissors

Rock Paper Scissors is a well conceived take on the classic game, which thoughtfully expands the concept to include a little more strategic depth
Score
Jon Mundy
Jon Mundy
Jon is a consummate expert in adventure, action, and sports games. Which is just as well, as in real life he's timid, lazy, and unfit. It's amazing how these things even themselves out.