Rock, Paper, Scissors, er ah, Azure

Did you play Rock, Paper, Scissors as a kid? Even now? Have I got a contest for you. RockPaperAzure!.

Play Rock, Paper, Scissors for prizes against other developers.

One catch, instead of playing versus another person in "real-life" we're going to let you code up a "bot" and compete against other players via Windows Azure in an automoton fashion.

Don't have an Azure account? No problem. Players get free 30 day accounts to use in their battles.

The team will be hosting weekly tournaments for real prizes such as XBoxes, Kinects, and $50 gift cards. Easy prizes!

And event better, everyone who enters will also receive a free RockPaperAzure Challenge t-shirt as well. Yes, a free t-shirt! We knew that would hook you.

Some things to watch out for. In addition to Rock, Paper, and Scissor, there are two new pieces, Dynamite and Water. Dynamite always wins except against water. Water always loses except against dynamite. More tips are available here - https://www.rockpaperazure.com/faq.aspx . The strategy doc makes a good read.

Detail instructions and videos are available at https://www.rockpaperazure.com/getstarted.aspx .

Round #1 kicks off on April 4. The contest ends on May 10.

A special note for Florida folks. Tag your bots with a "_FL" at the end. Then we can see who's playing from the state. I'll be up there as "DEVFISH_FL". Enjoy, and I hope to see someone from Florida in the winners circle.