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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:
- Scissors cuts Paper
- Paper wraps Rock
- 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.
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