Where: The Penderel’s Oak, 283-288 High Holborn, Holborn, London WC1V 7HP
£: 9.99 – 11, which includes entry into tournament plus £3 free RPS Challenge Money (advanced booking via website required).
What is it?
Rock, Paper, Scissors is everyone’s favourite decision-making game – be it deciding who washes up, buys the next round of drinks or puts the kettle on. However, there will be a lot more at stake than a few household chores when the UK Championships arrive in London this month. Now in its sixth year, the popular knockout tournament will see more than 250 competitors battle it out to be crowned the 2012 UK Rock Paper Scissors Champion and walk away with a £100 cash prize.
The idea of the game is for two people to go head to head, using one hand to imitate either a rock (clenched fist), a piece of paper (flat hand) or a pair of scissors (two fingers in a V shape). Rock beats (blunts) scissors, paper beats (wraps) rock and scissors beats (cuts) paper. Perhaps surprisingly the game is not just about luck and avoiding elbow cramp. It’s very similar to poker with a lot of bluffing and putting out mixed signals. For the experienced player there are well-known gambits [three pre-determined throws] that are adopted in tournaments globally, including the ‘Avalanche,’ which is three successive rocks and the Fistful o’ Dollars, rock, paper, paper. There are the less well-known ruses of ‘Cloaking’ and ‘Shadowing’ and of course the more dubious tactic of psyching out opponents.
Alongside the main tournament there will also be the return of the very popular RPS Challenge, allowing individuals to play against anyone in the room using a stake of fantasy money. This ensures that anyone that attends the event can get caught up in the excitement and adrenaline with hundreds of games going on all around the room at any one time.
More info: If you would like to find out more or register to take part visit www.wackynation.com or www.ukrockpaperscissorschampionships.com