# Strategies at Hand Games

Hand games provide entertainment when all else fails. Think borimg assembly period, bus ride, spectating a boring match etc. The classic Rock Paper Scissors is a good example of a hand game. Rock beats scissors, which beats Paper, which beats Rock. Whatever symbol you put, you have a 1/3 chance of winning, 1/3 of losing and 1/3 of getting a draw. There are a few "strategies" that I know of: 1. Chaos Play- Basically just random placement. 2. The Gambit- In a game of more than one round, start with a sequence of 3 symbols. In a long match, you can combine multiple gambits. 3. Exclusion Play- Discard a symbol and never use it. Your opponent will be tricked into thinking you will use it and play the symbol that will beats it

Other than Rock Paper Scissors, there is a less common game called Charge. This is significantly more complicated than Rock Paper Scissors. The aim of this game is to amass charges to use in attacks against your opponent. The symbols are:

1. Charge- Costs nothing to use. Adds one charge.
2. Block- Costs nothing to use. Blocks the Pistol attack.
3. Skyscraper- Costs nothing to use. Blocks the Earthquake attack.
4. Pistol- Costs 1 Charge. Deals damage.
5. Reflect- Costs 1 Charge. Reflects the Pistol attack back to the user. Also if opponent used Charge, he gains an additional charge.
6. Sunblock- Costs 2 Charges. Blocks everything up to Inferno except Pistol.
7. Earthquake- Costs 3 Charges. Deals damage.
8. Tsunami- Costs 4 Charges. Deals damage
9. Hurricane- Costs 5 Charges. Deals damage
10. Inferno- Costs 7 Charges. Deals damage
11. Black Hole- Costs 13 Charges. You win the game.

This game has not Hit Point System, so if you get hit and you don't block it, you die. Higher charge attacks can be used to block against lower charge attacks, so if you use Earthquaks against a Pistol, you kill the enemy. If both players select the same symbol, play continues.

So, what is your favorite hand game? Do you have a strategy? Share it!

Note by ZhiJie Goh
6 years, 8 months ago

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