How to Play

Janken Kingdom is a rock-paper-scissors battle played with cards. It is not just about showing a hand: reads and bluffs, with declaring and swapping, decide the match.

Reading the battle screen

1. Opponent's hand: You can see all of your opponent's remaining cards. Count them and read what comes next.
2. Opponent's HP: When the hearts reach zero, they lose.
3. Swap cards: How many times you can bluff with a swap. Up to 2 per match.
4. Round and time left: Up to six rounds. You have 20 seconds to declare and 20 to choose the card you play.
5. The field: The declared cards appear here.
6. Skills: The character's special power. Up to 2 uses per match.
7. Your hand: Rock (red), Scissors (yellow), Paper (blue). The number is the power.
8. Your HP: Hearts go down when you take damage.

You hold nine cards

Your hand is three Rock, three Scissors, and three Paper cards. The number on a card is its power, and it is the damage you deal when you win. A card you play is gone from your hand.

beats ▶

beats ▶

beats ▶ (Paper beats Rock)

The spread of powers differs by character. See every hand on the Characters page.

How a round works

1. 1

   Declare

   The first player declares one card from their hand. Then the other player declares (they can see what was declared).

   
2. 2

   Play it as declared, or swap?

   Both players choose in secret: "Play as declared" or "Swap card".

   
3. 3

   If you swap, pick a card

   Choose the card you really want to play from your hand. Nobody sees the choice until both players have chosen.

   
4. 4

   Rock, paper, scissors, shoot!

   Both cards are revealed at once, and Rock, Scissors, and Paper decide the winner.

   
5. 5

   Damage, and whether the swap worked

   The winner deals damage equal to the card's power (a draw deals none). Whether anyone swapped is revealed here.

   

Repeat this until the match is decided, for up to six rounds.

The swap (your bluff)

Playing a different card than the one you declared is called a swap. You can swap up to 2 times per match.

With 0 swaps left, you must play exactly the card you declared.

Winning: you win the moment your opponent's HP reaches 0. If nobody does after six rounds, the player with more HP wins. Equal HP is a draw.

Character skills

Each of the nine characters has a unique skill. Every skill can be used up to 2 times per match.

Character	HP	Skill	When to use	Effect
King Arthur	10	Royal Command 2 uses	After declaring	Activate to raise this round's card power: 1→2, 2→3, 3→5
Princess Priscilla	10	Add Card 2 uses, from round 2	Before declaring	Activate to add 1 missing card to your hand
Knight Luchi	10	Iron Guard 2 uses	After declaring	Activate to take no damage even if you lose this round
Mage Eleanor	8	Magic Reflect 2 uses	After declaring	Activate to take no damage even if you lose this round, and reflect the same amount to your opponent
Fairy Pico	9	Hand Trade 2 uses	Before declaring	Pick 1 card from your hand and swap it with a random card from your opponent's hand
Dracula Vlad	8	Blood Drain 2 uses	After declaring	Activate and win this round to recover HP equal to the damage dealt
Goblin Pokko	11	Leftovers 2 uses, from round 2	After declaring	Activate and draw this round to steal 1 random card from your opponent's hand
Priest Clara	9	Healing Prayer 2 uses	After declaring	Activate and lose this round to take no damage and recover HP equal to the opponent's damage
Scholar Sophia	9	Analysis 2 uses	After declaring	See through your opponent's skill use and card swaps

For more about each character, see the Characters page .

Game modes

• 

  Story Mode

  A story to play on your own.

• 

  CPU Battle

  Practice anytime with any character.

• 

  Rank Match

  Compete for points against players online.

• 

  Room Match

  Play and spectate with friends in a room.

Story Mode

• First choose a difficulty (Easy, Normal, or Hard), then choose your character. The difficulty you chose last time is selected by default.
• Defeat your opponents one by one. There are six regular opponents, and tougher foes wait after them.
• When you beat a regular opponent, you can recruit them as a companion (up to 2). Companions become characters you can choose to fight with from the next battle on.
• If you lose, it is game over. On Easy and Normal, you get 10 seconds to press Continue and challenge the same opponent again. On Hard, you cannot continue.
• Clear the story to see an ending for the character you chose.
• Clear it without using Continue and without recruiting anyone, and you earn Medals.

CPU Battle

• Pick any two characters and battle anytime (there is also a "random" button).
• Each CPU character plays with its own habits.
• Wins and losses are not recorded, so it is perfect for practicing rules and skills.

Rank Match

• You are matched at random with players online. Matches between players who have set a nickname count for points.
• You start with 1000 points. You gain points by winning and lose them by losing. As your points rise, you climb the titles from Volunteer up to Emperor (see also the Ranking & Medals page).
• The game looks for an opponent with similar points first, and the range widens the longer you wait.
• While searching, you can press "CPU Battle while waiting" to play a CPU Battle (the search keeps going). When an opponent is found, the CPU Battle ends and your Rank Match begins. CPU Battle results are not recorded.
• If your connection drops, the app reconnects automatically and brings you back to the match. Rounds that pass while you are away are played automatically, just like running out of time (a random declaration, played as declared, no skills).
• During maintenance, new matches cannot be started.

Room Match

• Create a room: choose "Create Room", then set a room name (up to 12 characters), the number of players (2 to 9), public or private, and a 4-digit passcode (optional). The room name starts out as "[your name]'s room".
• Join: pick a public room from the list (you can search by name). For a private room, enter its 6-digit room ID with "Join by ID". Rooms with a passcode need the passcode.
• Tables: each room has four tables with two seats each. When you sit down, you choose the character to use (you can change your character while seated). When both players press Ready, the match starts.
• Spectate: if you are not seated, you can watch a table that is in a match with "Spectate". You can read and send chat while spectating.
• Chat: send one of 8 quick phrases with a single tap, or type your own message of up to 30 characters.
• Invite: use "Invite" to invite friends, or anyone by ID or nickname. Invited players can join without the passcode. Invitations expire after 10 minutes. Even when the app is closed, a notification lets them know (this can be switched in Settings).
• Room Match does not change your Rank Match points. If you leave the room during a match, you forfeit it.
• A room disappears when everyone has left. During maintenance, you cannot create a room or join a new one.

Tips

• You can see all of your opponent's cards. Count what is left and think about what they might play next.
• A winning swap costs nothing, but a losing one uses a swap, so save your swaps for the moments that matter.
• Your declaration is visible to your opponent. You can declare a weak card and swap to a strong one, or the other way around.
• Round 5 gives you more swap cards, and round 6 adds +1 damage, so the endgame is your chance for a comeback.
• You can use a skill only twice per match, so choose your moment.
• The time limit is 20 seconds. Do not hesitate for too long.