Rock Paper Scissors Minus One was a game played outside of the Squid Games by the Recruiter. He played it, in combination with Russian Roulette, with Kim Jeong-rae and Choi Woo-seok.
It is an intransitive hand game, usually played between two people, in which each player simultaneously forms one of three shapes with an outstretched hand. These shapes are "rock" (a closed fist), "paper" (a flat hand), and "scissors" (a fist with the index finger and middle finger extended, forming a V).
A simultaneous, zero-sum game, it has three possible outcomes: a draw, a win, or a loss. A player who decides to play rock will beat another player who chooses scissors ("rock crushes scissors" or "breaks scissors" or sometimes "blunts scissors"), but will lose to one who has played paper ("paper covers rock"); a play of paper will lose to a play of scissors ("scissors cuts paper"). If both players choose the same shape, the game is tied, but is usually replayed until there is a winner.
In this two-handed variant, one player will shout "minus one" after the initial play. Each player removes one hand, and the winner is decided by the remaining hands in play. If a player does not take back one of their hands, they are automatically disqualified.
Results[]
After capturing Mr. Kim and Woo-seok, the Recruiter forced them to play this game, with the loser having the trigger pulled on them until one player died. The Recruiter re-spun the cylinder after each round, maintaining a 1/6 chance of dying for the loser. Eventually, he got bored and loaded the revolver with 5 bullets instead of 1, increasing the chance of dying to 5/6.
Woo-seok was the overall winner after Mr. Kim sacrificed himself by not taking a hand back.
| Round | Rock Paper Scissors | Minus One | Russian Roulette | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mr. Kim: 🪨✂️
Woo-seok: none |
1 bullet | Woo-seok was disqualified for not playing. The gun did not fire. | |
| 2 | Mr. Kim: 🪨📄
Woo-seok: 🪨✂️ |
Mr. Kim: 📄
Woo-seok: ✂️ |
Mr. Kim lost. The gun did not fire. | |
| 3 | Mr. Kim: ✂️📄
Woo-seok: 🪨📄 |
Mr. Kim: 📄
Woo-seok: 🪨 |
Woo-seok lost. The gun did not fire. | |
| 4 | Mr. Kim: 🪨✂️
Woo-seok: 🪨✂️ |
Mr. Kim: 🪨
Woo-seok: 🪨 |
||
| Mr. Kim: 🪨📄
Woo-seok: 🪨✂️ |
Mr. Kim: 🪨
Woo-seok: 🪨 | |||
| Mr. Kim: 🪨✂️
Woo-seok: 📄✂️ |
Mr. Kim: ✂️
Woo-seok: ✂️ | |||
| Mr. Kim: ✂️📄
Woo-seok: 📄🪨 |
Mr. Kim: 📄
Woo-seok: 📄 | |||
| Mr. Kim: 📄✂️
Woo-seok: 🪨🪨 |
Mr. Kim: 📄✂️
Woo-seok: 🪨 |
5 bullets | Mr. Kim was disqualified for not taking a hand back. The gun fired. |