7 Rock Paper Scissors Variants for the Office Party and Schoolyard

First play a normal Rock Paper Scissors round. Then the winner calls out "Muk / Jji / Ppa" (rock / scissors / paper) while throwing a shape. If the loser throws the same shape, it's a tie and play continues; if they throw a different shape, they lose. A 5-minute game of RPS can stretch into 30 minutes. Great for an office party.

The winner of an RPS round slaps the back of the loser's hand (son-deung, "back of the hand") with two fingers. If the loser pulls their hand away in time, they get another try. It's a nice, casual way to play among friends. (Don't overdo it in a school cafe or at a work dinner — pushing it too far can spoil the mood, so keep it gentle.)

The 5-option ruleset made famous by the U.S. sitcom The Big Bang Theory. Rock, Paper, Scissors plus Lizard and Spock. The chance of a draw drops from 1/3 to 1/5, so each round finishes faster. The rules are complex and confusing at first, but once you learn them it feels fresh.

Two people throw 1 to 5 fingers at the same time, and the winner is decided by whether the total is odd (hol) or even (jjak). Before playing, one person calls "odd" and the other calls "even." No draws, 50/50 odds. Good for the office when you need to settle something fast.

You throw a shape with both hands at the same time, then, after seeing your opponent's hands, you "pull back" (bbaegi) one hand to use for the actual result. As a meta version of RPS, the mind game runs deep. Played seriously, a single round can take 1 to 2 minutes, which makes it great for building up the mood.

For when there are lots of people (10 or more). Everyone pairs off and plays RPS, then the winners play each other again, and so on, until a final champion is decided. Upside: there's one clear winner. Downside: with a big crowd it takes a long time. Tip: with Gababo's invite-a-friend mode, you can run a tournament remotely too.

Set a drink in front of everyone and play RPS — the loser takes a shot. It's the most common work-dinner rule. Variations: • "Drink after 3 losses" — whoever loses three times drinks • "The winner points to who drinks" • "Switch to Mukjjippa to drag it out longer" At a drinking table, keeping the mood light matters most. Don't drag it out too long.

• All Rock Paper Scissors variants: /variants • Invite-a-friend mode: Gababo home screen • Rock Paper Scissors rules: /rules