Rock Swap Flip Flop: A Classic Reimagined

Everyone knows Rock Paper Scissors. How many times have you played it in your life? But if the hand gestures start to shift, will you be able to keep up?

Published by Alley Cat Games, Rock Swap Flip Flop is a 5-15 minute game designed for 2-4 players, and puts a fresh spin on a classic everyone knows.

Gameplay

Three hand boards, one for rock, one for paper, and one for scissors, are placed in the center of the table. Each one shows a fist. Finger pieces are placed on each one to represent the traditional hand gestures for rock, paper, and scissors.

Each player is dealt three cards. Each card shows a different hand gesture, with the fingers in different configurations of up and down. Cards also come in three different colors.

Every round, all players compete in a game of Rock Paper Scissors, using the hand gestures as shown on the hand boards on the table. These gestures change during the course of the game, and if a player gets one wrong, he is eliminated from the round. Once there is one winner of Rock Paper Scissors, he can adjust the fingers on the board. He can either move one finger from one hand board to another, remove a finger from a hand board, or add a finger to a hand board.

Next, all players check their cards. If a player has a card whose hand gesture now matches one of the gestures on one of the hand boards, he can play it in front of himself. He can play as many cards as he has completed. If a player has collected three cards of the same color, or one card of each color, he can turn them in for a trophy. The first player to collect two trophies wins the game.

If no one has won yet, everyone draws back up to three cards, and a new round begins.

Review

Everyone knows the basics of Rock Paper Scissors, which makes this an easy game to learn, and also helps with the challenge of the gameplay. The hand gestures you have to make for the original game are so deeply ingrained in our heads that it’s hard to remember to make the new gestures as the fingers move from board to board.

The components are fun. The little white cardboard fingers are really quite satisfying to manipulate and are a fun way to show each gesture for the three different states. Everything also packs up in a pretty small box, making this a fun, light, portable game with a unique and clever concept.

There is some ambiguity in the rules regarding ties, though. Given that the game is designed to be played by up to four people, you can get in situations where two players have the winning hand gesture, or where everyone knocks someone else out. The rulebook doesn’t address these situations at all. We found what appeared to be an official answer online, where everyone knocked out stays out, and those still in the round go again until there is a single winner — but this should be addressed in the rules.

We found Rock Swap Flip Flop most enjoyable when we pushed ourselves to play fast, increasing the chances of messing up the new hand gestures. It’s also a solid family game that kids could easily have fun with. It’s very easy and light. Who knew there was still more life to be had in Rock Paper Scissors?

Pros: Fun components, clever twist on a game everyone knows, easy to teach

Cons: Rulebook fails to clarify ties

Disclosure: we received a complimentary review copy of this game.