Zuri, an 11-year-old coding explorer, had just finished learning about if-else statements and functions in Python. She loved making her code do stuff—like asking questions and reacting with smart answers.

One afternoon, Zuri sat with her tablet and wondered,

“Can I make Python play a game with me?”

Of course she could! But not just any game… a classic: Rock, Paper, Scissors!

🧠 What’s the Game About?

Here’s a quick reminder of the rules:

  • Rock beats Scissors
  • Scissors beats Paper
  • Paper beats Rock

Simple, right? You and the computer each pick one secretly. Then — Boom! — you both reveal your hands, and the rules decide the winner.

👨🏽‍🍳 Cooking Up the Code: Full Python Game

import random

def play_game():
    print("🎮 Welcome to Rock, Paper, Scissors!")
    print("Type your choice: rock, paper, or scissors")

    options = ['rock', 'paper', 'scissors']
    computer_choice = random.choice(options)
    user_choice = input("👉 Your choice: ").lower()

    if user_choice not in options:
        print("❌ Invalid choice! Please choose rock, paper, or scissors.")
        return

    print(f"🖥️ Computer chose: {computer_choice}")

    if user_choice == computer_choice:
        print("😐 It's a tie!")
    elif (user_choice == 'rock' and computer_choice == 'scissors') or \
         (user_choice == 'scissors' and computer_choice == 'paper') or \
         (user_choice == 'paper' and computer_choice == 'rock'):
        print("🎉 You win!")
    else:
        print("💻 Computer wins!")

# Run the game
play_game()

🧒🏽 Code Explanation

Let’s break it down like we’re baking a delicious cake together! 🎂

🥚 Step 1: The Ingredients

We import random so the computer can surprise us by picking rock, paper, or scissors secretly.

import random

🍰 Step 2: The Game Function

We wrap everything in a play_game() function. This is like our recipe — we follow it step by step.

🎲 Step 3: Computer’s Secret Choice

computer_choice = random.choice(options)

The computer closes its eyes, puts its hand behind its back, and picks something randomly.

🙋🏽‍♂️ Step 4: Player’s Turn

user_choice = input("👉 Your choice: ").lower()

We ask the player what they want to choose. We use .lower() so whether they type “Rock” or “rock”, Python understands it the same way.

🚫 Step 5: Catching Mistakes

If someone types “fire” or “banana,” we stop them kindly:

if user_choice not in options:
    print("❌ Invalid choice!")

⚔️ Step 6: Battle Time!

We compare the two choices using if-elif-else:

if user_choice == computer_choice:
    print("😐 It's a tie!")

If both picked the same, it’s a tie. Otherwise, we check who beats who!

🧪 Review & Practice Questions

Let’s test our brain-coding muscles:

  1. 🧩 What Python module do we use to let the computer choose randomly?
  2. 💡 What happens if the user types something weird, like “banana”?
  3. ✏️ What does .lower() do, and why is it helpful here?
  4. 🔁 Can you modify this game to allow 3 rounds and keep score?
  5. 🧐 Where in the code do we check for a tie? Can you find the exact line?
<
Previous Post
🌐✨ Is the Internet a Free Gift of Nature?
>
Next Post
📶 The Great Wi-Fi Mystery: How Physical Barriers Were Wrecking My Connection