RPS | FAQ'S

1 › What's RPS?
2 › What happens if I don't register by 11 February?
3 › What does it cost?
4 › How do you play?
5 › How do I know it's time to play?
6 › How many turns do you get?
7 › Why weren't there three plays?
8 › I've got a loss and a draw. Should I carry on?
9 › It's not convenient to play right now.
10 › What happens if I miss a round?
11 › What happens if I'm KO-ed?
12 › How many ways are there to win prizes?
13 › How do I know if I've won?
14 › How can I get my mates involved?
15 › It's not playing one round a day.
16 › How can I get some practise in?
17 › Want any tips?
18 › How will I know if I've won?
19 › What is RPS Quiz?
20 › How do I quit RPS?

1 › What's RPS?

Normally rps is a non-contact game of hand-to-hand combat. Two players count down ('prime') and then present their play - closed fist for rock, outstretched hand with fingers together and palm down for paper, or two fingers for scissors (make sure your two fingers are pointing the right way!).

Rock beats scissors, paper beats rock and scissors beat paper. Two of a kind is a draw. It's sweet and simple, but there are all sorts of patterns and ploys. See fun stuff.

rps has been around for centuries. It's the classic dispute resolution tool, used for everything from deciding between chick flick vs. slice'n dice to which Australian Idol finalist sings first on the Sydney Opera House steps.

2 › What happens if I don't register by 11 February?

Simple. You don't get to play for rps fame and fortune. You'll have to be content with testing your rps knowledge in the quiz. Or playing draughts with your Gran.

3 › What does it cost?

rps027 is free to enter, free to play for anyone with an 027 mobile.

4 › How do you play?

Use your 027 mobile. Wait for The Machine to txt you to start each round, then respond with your play by keying in R for rock, P for paper or S for scissors then TXT your play to 2005. The Machine will TXT you back its play, telling you whether you've won, lost or drawn. Remember, it's best of 3 plays per round, if you lose a round, or miss one, you're KO-ed.

5 › How do I know it's time to play?

Watch your 027 mobile. The Machine will TXT you if a play is overdue, or a new round is about to start.

6 › How many turns do you get?

Each round is best of three, so usually you're asked to make a play three times.

7 › Why weren't there three plays?

Not every round will go to the third play. If you score two wins in the first two plays (great!), or a win plus a draw (it's enough), or two losses (bad luck), the result will have been decided already.

8 › I've got a loss and a draw. Should I carry on?

Definitely. A win on the third play would still give you an overall draw and get you through to the next round. Show a little stickability. It's The Machine you're playing, not Einstein.

9 › It's not convenient to play right now.

As vital as rps is to the smooth functioning of society, we know a careful player sometimes appreciates time to deliberate and ponder before choosing their next play.

So, you'll have a few hours to make your plays.

If you haven't been able to play in that time - or you didn't respond to TXT - you'll get a reminder from The Machine. If you don't respond to that, you'll be KO-ed.

10 › What happens if I miss a round?

Commitment is the name of this particular game. So if you used your mobile to stir your smoothie, left it in a taxi cab or lent it to a really nice guy who needed to TXT his girlfriend but you haven't seen him since, then tough.

You're not totally out in the cold however. You can still play in the Weekly Prize Pools to get in amongst hundreds of prizes each week, including iPod minis, Philips Recordable DVDs, cool new mobiles, double movie passes and airtime credits.

There's a new pool of prizes each week. You can play more than once but you only get one entry per week.

You also get a chance in the Wildcard draw, announced on the televised final on C4 on Sunday 27 February. You get an entry simply for registering, and you get another entry for each round towards the final that you survive.

We're not saying what the prize is - but believe us, it's big!

You can also try your hand in the Quiz. There are no prizes - just the satisfaction of knowing you're an rps genius. Or at least, smarter than The Machine.

11 › What happens if I'm KO-ed?

You can't make it to the finals, but you can still play for great prizes in the Weekly Prize Pools. You're also in the running for that Wildcard prize with an entry for every round you played. Plus, you can match wits with The Machine in the quiz.

12 › How many ways are there to win prizes?

There are two roads to success- you can be a winner in both.

Either, you can fight your way into the finals. As well, you'll be in the Weekly Prize Draw and you'll have entries in the Wildcard Draw.

Or, if you're KO-ed or miss a round, you can play for the Weekly Prize Draw and hope your Wildcard entries come up.

The winner of the Wildcard prize will be announced on C4 television final - so watch out for it. Everyone who registers gets an entry, and you get another entry for each round you survive.

13 › How do I know if I've won?

Right through the competition The Machine will keep you informed by TXT. Or visit this website, or check C4.

If you've won through to last eight, The Machine will be in touch.

If you've won in the Weekly Prize Pool, we'll call you on your mobile.

14 › How can I get my mates involved?

So, you want to see the smile wiped off your mates' faces as they lose to The Machine, do you?

Just go to Register and enter their Telecom mobile number.

Or, TXT 'invite' and their 027 number to 2005.

Then leave it to The Machine to invite them in.

15 › It's not playing one round a day.

There will be as many rounds as it takes to knock out competitors and get down to the top eight. As the competition goes on, rounds may happen more or less often.

16 › How can I get some practice in?

Visit Practice rps or use your 027 and try the demo. Just TXT 'demo' to 2005. It's free.

17 › Want any tips?

Check out fun stuff or the strategy of the day. Or visit the official website of the World rps Society, www.worldrps.com

But here's a tip for starters. R, P and S are on the same button on most mobiles, so we bet a lot of people will take the one-push way out and go for Paper. Which could make S for Scissors a very smart play indeed.

18 › How will I know if I've won?

If you win a weekly prize, The Machine will TXT you for your details and where to deliver it. If it's an airtime credit, it'll be credited to your 027 account automatically.

If you're one of the last eight and a finalist, we'll be in touch personally. Of course, if you haven't been knocked out by the end of 23 February, you'll have a pretty fair idea of where you've got to.

If you win the wildcard entry, your name will be announced during the finals broadcast by C4 on Sunday 27 February - so be watching for it. We'll also TXT you.

19 › What is RPS Quiz?

During RPS027 you'll also be able to hone your RPS knowledge by TXTing 'Q' to 2005. In response to your message The Machine will serve you a trivia question about the game of Rock, Paper, Scissors. You'll have three answer options to choose from. Just TXT back the number of the answer you selected and The Machine will respond, notifying you whether you were correct or not.

You can't win any prizes with RPS Quiz, but it does help you learn more about the game and keeps your TXTing technique up to scratch while you wait for the next round. Anybody with an 027 mobile can play RPS Quiz.

20 › How do I quit RPS?

To quit RPS is simple, just txt 'QUIT' or 'STOP' to 2005.