Paper Scissors Rock

Even out here on the prairie, around this house, we play it as "Jan-Ken-Po," but the basics of the game are the same.

My 2-year old, PK has ascended to the age where small conflicts and matters of hand can now be settled, well...by hand.

Although, she seems to be attatched to a certain stragedy, which her older sibling quickly learned how to take advantage of.

PK says, "I'm always the Rock. I like the rock."

So, naturally, C is always paper.

And PK loses and gets frustrated and tells C not to always be paper.

To which C responds by telling PK not to always be rock.

To which PK responds, "I'm always the Rock. I like the rock." 2-year old logic and stubborness at work.

And they play again.

And PK is the always rock, C is always paper, and the argument continues.

I told C to teach PK how to play Tic-Tac-Toe.

That should settle things....right?

Flashback time...

In my younger days of travel and mirth, my best friend, my brother, and I stumbled upon a unique video incarnation of the game while trolling the alleys and streets of the seedy Shinjuku district in central Tokyo.

For a 100 yen coin, a video game player could face a game screen and play jan-ken-po with a nubile young Asian female. At one point during the game, the player must select his choice of three large, backlit buttons -- each labeled with the graphic of a hand in the shape of "paper," "scissors," and "rock."

The reward? You best the video player, she removes an article of clothing. She bests you, and you're out 100 yen -- hey, give me a break, we were young, in a foreign land, with yen to burn.

So, I'd like to tell you that we only spent a few hundren yen on this silly game.

I'd like to tell you that each of us gave it a shot, lost and walked away in pursuit of more cultural pursuits in the land of the rising sun.

I'd like to tell you that we imported that game to the states, mass produced it and made a mint by placing it in thousands of video arcades across the country.

I'd also like to tell you that the next time PK plays jan-ken-po with her sister, she'll chose something other than rock.

Not likely.