About Throw Down
Throw Down is rock, paper, scissors, played on a screen so that nobody can throw late. Each player picks in secret. Only when both have chosen are the hands revealed.
How a match works
Each side of the screen has three buttons. Tap one, and a tick appears in the middle to show that you are ready, without showing what you picked. When both ticks are in, the two throws appear side by side.
The usual rules apply. Rock blunts scissors. Scissors cut paper. Paper wraps rock. If both players throw the same, nobody scores and you go again. The first to three points wins the match.
Sitting and setting up
Lay the device flat between you, and do not watch where your opponent's finger goes. On a computer, player one uses A, S and D, and player two uses J, K and L, for rock, paper and scissors in that order.
Is there any skill in it?
Against a truly random opponent, no. Each throw wins a third of the time, whatever you do.
But people are not random. Studies of the game, and long experience, point to habits worth knowing.
Beginners favour rock on the first throw. If you think that describes your opponent, open with paper.
Winners tend to repeat. Someone who has just won with scissors is more likely than chance to throw scissors again.
Losers tend to switch, and often to the throw that would have beaten what just beat them. If your rock just beat their scissors, expect paper next, and throw scissors.
People rarely throw the same thing three times running. After two rocks, the third is probably not rock.
The best defence is to be unpredictable yourself. If your opponent seems to be reading you, change your pattern.
It is the fastest decider among our two-player HTML5 games, and a fair way to choose who does the washing up.