In another striking example at the Kyoto institute, separate computer screens were set up for two apes. They played a competitive game that required them to anticipate one another’s moves, a bit like a rock-paper-scissors game. Could they outguess their rival based on his or her previous choices? The performance of the apes was compared with that of humans playing the same game. The chimps won, reaching optimal performance more quickly and completely than members of our own species. The scientists attributed the apes’ edge to them being quicker at predicting a rival’s moves and countermoves.