Foreword

This table sums up a selection (far from complete) of Jan Ken Pon / Rock Paper Scissors variants from around the world.

Contributions

Please feel free to suggest additions -- I find them really interesting but I have to admit that sometimes I am a bit slow at adding them. By 'slow' I mean that several years may elapse between my polite 'thank you for your interesting Rock Paper Scissors' variant' email and any actual change to this table. Sorry.

Appearance in Print

This table (with all the 4- and 5-element games removed!) appears in the World RPS Society's recent book on Rock Paper Scissors strategy and culture.

The Jan Ken Pon Table

Region	Country	Variant	Throw1	Throw2	Throw3	Throw4	Throw5	Words	Notes
NE Asia	Japan	Jankenpon	Rock	Scissors	Paper			Jan Ken Pon!	Relatively recent, but has spread rapidly.
		Fox-ken	Village Headman Hands on hips	Gun Aiming rifle	Fox Extending arms like a fox's forepaws
		Tiger-ken	Hero	Tiger	Grandmother
		Mushi-ken	Frog Thumb	Snake First Finger	Slug Little Finger				Probably the oldest Japanese form of the game
		Tsugaru-ken	Nikko Like rock	Yari Point with first finger	Hera Like paper				Played in the Tsugaru area, this version has a complex history.
		Osaka variant	Rock	Scissors	Paper			Iinjan de hoi! or In Jan Hoi!
		Face-janken	Purse lips	Stick out tongue	Open mouth wide				Dates back to when janken was a drinking game -- not played much in today's staid society.
		Legs-janken	Legs together	Legs crossed	Legs apart				Like face-janken, but more dangerous!
	Okinawa		Fire Thumb	Snake First Finger	Water Little Finger			Tou, Tou, Bii!
			Tree Thumb	Bird First Finger	Insect Little Finger
			Father Thumb	Mother First Finger	Child Little Finger
	Mongolia		Little Finger	Ring Finger	Middle Finger	First Finger	Thumb		Each finger beats the one to it's right and is beaten by the one to it's left. Ties are frequent, so the game is played many times in rapid succession -- very demanding.
	Korea		Rock	Scissors Thumb and first finger, not the usual scissors shape	Cloth			Kai Bai Bo! or Jan Ken Po!	"Kai Bai Bo" is the Korean expression. "Jan Ken Po" is a relic of the Japanese occupation, but still heard.
			Rock	Nail First finger	Cloth			Kai Bai Bo! or Jan Ken Po!	Korean janken seems to have evolved gradually away from nail and toward scissors.
	China		Rock	Scissors	Cloth			Ki Ki Ki! and other versions depending on region.
			Hammer	Scissors	Bomb
		Old Cantonese variant	God Thumb	Chicken First finger	Gun Middle Finger	Fox Ring Finger	Termite Little Finger		The relationships between the throws are complex -- but in general, the chicken has a hard time of it.
Rest of Asia	Myanmar		General Hands on hips	Soldier Aiming rifle	Tiger Hands held up and out like animal paws				The similarity in the gestures between this and Japanese fox-ken is really remarkable.
		Variant	General Hands on hips	Gun Shooting pistol	Surrender Hands in air				This is a more recent version.
	Philippines		Rock	Scissors	Paper			Jan Ken Hon! or Jack En Poi! or Ii Aru Sen!	Ii Aru Sen means "1, 2, 3".
	Malaysia		Rock	Beak	Well Hand curled
			Rock	Bud Fingertips together to make a bud shape	Water Hand curled
			Rock	Beak	Well Hand curled
		Old variant	Gun Thumb	Bird First finger	Water Middle Finger	Stone Ring Finger	Plank Little Finger		The throws have different levels of power.
	Vietnam		Hammer	Scissors First finger only	Paper			"1, 2, 3!" (counted in English)
	Laos		Hammer	Nail First finger only	Cloth
	Indonesia		Elephant Thumb	Human First Finger	Ant Little Finger				There are various theories of how exactly the ant beats the elephant...
Western Hemisphere	Russia		Rock	Scissors	Paper	Well			Well beats rock and scissors, but not paper.
	Germany		Rock	Scissors	Paper	Well			Same as Russia.
	France		Rock	Scissors	Leaf	Well			Well beats Rock and Scissors.
	USA		Rock	Scissors	Paper				Always called 'Rock, Paper, Scissors'; in other words the throws are listed in a different order from most countries.
			Rock	Scissors	Paper	Spock	Lizard		Unlike many Asian 5-throw games, the 5 throws in this game are all of equal strength.
			Rock	Scissors	Paper	Dynamite			Usually, dynamite (or another powerful object) beats everything but there is some limit on its use.
			Rock	Scissors	Paper	Fire Fingers spread out pointing upwards	Water Fingers spread out pointing downwards		Fire beats everything except water, and water beats nothing except fire.