Janken -- Rock-Paper-Scissors goes solo.

Gone for good - apparently - are the good ol' days when you would get your best friend and engage in a lively game of rock-paper-scissors and then fight over who won. Those lengthy debates over whether your paper beat his rock or scissors (with all the accompanying nonsensical logic) are no more. With the introduction of Janken by PROPEX, Inc. you can have those nostalgia-inspiring arguments again, all by yourself! Well, if you know someone else who has the app, you could play with them, I guess. But, really, if you're gonna play with someone else isn't the tactile experience of shaking your fist and then unveiling your "random" choice of weapon part of the charm?

Janken is a traditional Asian hand game where two players reveal their hands simultaneously representing one of three possible weapons: a rock, paper, or scissors. Rock beats scissors but loses with paper, which in turn loses with scissors ... you get the idea. The iPhone/iPod Touch version boasts 100% random results, and claims to be a fun way to make everyday decisions.

Well, why use your hand when you can make your iPhone do all the work, right? Simply open the Janken app and shake the device for a random result. You can choose from regular photos of hands or cartoon versions. Janken not only offers the normal rock-paper-scissors, but also the internet-famous lizard-spock variant, Sheldon.

Rock

The app is cool, if I want to settle an especially troubling internal debate over whether to munch on Oreos or Nutter Butters or whether to go shopping or stay home. But, I think I still prefer the old school version when there's another warm body around to challenge. It was one of the few games my brother and sisters & I played as kids that didn't risk putting out an eye, ya know? I mean, we jumped off of barns in to snow drifts without even wondering if there was something covered by the snow that could sever a limb. We had sword fights with 2 by 4's without thinking about the concussions we might suffer if our aim was a little off. Rock-paper-scissors was the safest game we played. And I have great memories of all the fun debates and hours spent giggling over the weird logic we used to justify "winning."

Paper

I kid because to me it's just a fun game I played as a child. But seriously, if you are looking for an app to help you make decisions, Janken is the one for you. At 99 cents, it's not a major investment and will only occupy 0.8 MB on your device. It is compatible with iPhone and iPod Touch (2nd generation), and requires iPhone OS 2.2.1 or later.

Scissors

It is worth noting that in the iTunes App Store description it states you can choose various sounds for the app to play when a new hand is displayed from the settings menu. Also, it mentions that the languages supported include: English, Finnish, French, German, Japanese and Swedish. For the record, I didn't see a Settings menu or anywhere to select to use photos or cartoons for the hand signals, select a language or choose sounds, or to choose which game variant to play. The only thing I saw was an Information icon which displays copyright info and an email address to contact the developers. Still, I have found toying with this app enjoyable.

You can buy Janken HERE.