It seems I missed the recent Rock, Paper, Scissors world championship in Toronto. The [Boston Globe article](http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/342/focus/ The_rock_heard_round_the_world+.shtml) quoted the rules (found here as follows:
So I gotta ask you aficionados of RPS (and I know you’re out there): Whazzupwiddat? What are these other throws, and what beats what?
[edited to fix coding]
I’ve heard about Dynamite, Bomb and God (and Hand Grenade, which is not listed here), and they’re an automatic win, beating all three of the others. They usually come into play when a large amount of beer has been consumed, when either of the participants is very bored, or both. While I can imagine what Spock and Texas Longhorn look like, I’ve no idea what they do.
Well, at least according to the venerable “World Rock, Paper, Scissors Society”, things like dynamite and “steer horns” are verboten:
As to what Spock in a game of RPS looks like, it most likely would be a standard Vulcan Hand Gesture: fingers and thumb all held parallel to the palm, index finger and middle finger held together, ring and pinky held together, middle and ring spread in a “V”. (Saying “Live Long and Prosper” is normally optional, though in this situation, it may be required.)
Now this is mere speculation, but might Texas Longhorn be the same as the “Devil” hand gesture popularized by headbangers and heavy metal fans in general? Index and Pinky extended, middle and ring held together and curled under a bent thumb?
Going to an offical source, The World Rock-Paper-Scissors Society is actually not that helpful because they don’t condone the use of any alternate throws at all, and only mention Dynamite by name:
More research is needed.
More research is needed, especially since I missed the previous quote from the World RPS Society that did mention the other throws by name.
I have found a variant called Rock Paper Scissors Spock Lizard with the following rules:
Scissors cuts Paper covers Rock crushes Lizard poisons Spock smashes Scissors decapitates Lizard eats Paper disproves Spock vaporizes Rock crushes Scissors.
It’s actually a balanced set of rules. Unfortunately, I can’t seem to find a good depiction of how one makes the Lizard gesture.
This website is unbelievable… just unbelievable… it doesn’t seem that they’re being ironic at all.
Check out this exerpt from ‘Strategic Analysis of the “Great Eight” Gambits’:
Roshambollha? He didn’t invent ro-sham-bo, did he? 
Hush, you’ll spoil it. 
Other mystical throws I’ve turned up in research include Chainsaw, Bulldozer, Bird, ICBM, Spermwhale, and Father Time. Maybe these people have better fingers than I do.
I’ve also found references to Strip Rock Paper Scissors.
We used to use dynamite on the playground sometimes when I was a kid; it was a fist with your thumb sticking up (to represent the fuse). It beat paper (the fuse ignited the paper) and rock (it blew up rock), but scissors could cut the paper. (Of course, if any of us were smart enough to realize it, this was the ideal throw, since unlike the others it won more than it lost. This was important back then because the winner got free hits.)
There were a few others we used as well which I can’t remember.
–Cliffy
I believe that page was created by one of the Tiltboys.
I know one of them programmed the Roshambot:
http://chappie.stanford.edu/~perry/roshambo/
Good luck trying to beat it.
Read their Vegas Trip reports; they are hilarious.
How much more bored can you get? You are already reduced to amusing yourself by playing rock paper scissors
We used “fire” on the playground. Fire beat everything - burned paper, melted scissors, scorched rock. You wiggled every finger to simulate the fire. It got outlawed pretty quickly.
The Texas Longhorns hand gesture is the pinky and index finger raised, and the thumb closed around the non-extended fingers. See the picture on this page. I always thought the “devil” headbanger gesture also extended the thumb…
Am I the only one here who actually enjoys this game? It’s not the random luck-game people think; actually it’s quite skill-based as long as you don’t play with 8-year-olds.
For example, try playing 10 rounds against 10 different people. Statistically, 3 or 4 of these rounds would be a “draw”, ie you both choose the same symbol. If my experiences count for anything, it’s going to be a lot higher, like 7 or 8. And beyond the first round, there’s next to no luck involved. It’s all psychology.
I used to boast that no-one could beat me, but lately I seem to have been losing my edge.
[Graham Chapman]
“Now, um, scissors beats everything right?”
“Not stone sir”
“They’re very good scissors…”
[/Graham Chapman]
At least I can guess what “bird” is, even if that one is more often flipped than thrown. I’d really like to know what “God” is, though.
Actually, I enjoyed the game most when my little sister was eight years old, 'cuz then I could beat her every time. (Poor kid – she always threw scissors.)
–Cliffy
“Good old Rock, nuthin’ beats Rock” - Bart
Obligatory Straight Dope Simpsons reference:
LISA (thinking): Poor predictable Bart. Always chooses rock.
BART (thinking): Good ol’ rock. Nothing beats rock.
Lisa throws paper, Bart throws rock.
BART: DOH
After a little googling, it looks like the “Devil” hand is the same guesture.
Extending the thumb turns it into American Sign Language for “I Love You”.
hijack/boasting
I once played strip rock paper scissor and one 14 times in a row. Then when the girl got mad I threw 10 games in a row
end of hijack/boasting
What the site does not go into enough detail is people’s tendency to start with scissor. It has been my experience that if you throw rock on the first game you almost always win
Here is a hint at how to win at Rock Paper Scissors. In my experience, it will help you win more often than not.
People will subconciously pick a throw that will beat the throw that you just threw. So, you need to throw a throw that will beat the throw that beats the throw that you just threw.
It is called the shelbo maneuver, and is effective against most people (or at least, can get you over a 50% win rate). But if you start using it against me, I know the counter. Bwaaahaaahaaaa.