WatchingLayer Tennislast Friday , commentator John Gruber compared the contention toCalvinball , which brought me back to my childhood , scan the Sunday funnies . retrieve Calvinball ? In my book , it ’s the ultimateNomicgame – a biz in which the principle change and develop as part of gameplay .
Back in April , I wrote about another Nomic game,1000 Blank White Cards . 1KBWC ( as it ’s , uh , less commonly known ) is a card secret plan in which players make up their own cards , which may implement new rules ( like " you must hold 40 card in decree to win " or the less - fun " holder of THIS CARD wins " ) . Calvinball is similar , but a second more active – it is classically played outdoors – and more devious : according to the official rule , section 1.2 , newfangled rules may be declared either audibly or mutely . The other major difference is that Calvinball regard a ball ( which , concord to surgical incision 2.2 , " may be a soccerball , volleyball , or any other fair or unreasonable , spherical or non - spherical object " ) .
I think I ’m a Calvinball fan because it ’s a plot of wit , rather than one of physical art . ( Also you get to wear thin a masquerade , and that sounds moderately fun . ) I certainly had my share of puerility game which devolve into arguments over who inject whom , but of course we also display this Calvin - like behavior of devising raw formula . That ’s what kidskin do . ( I recall one specially rank deterrent example : during a Monopoly game I once declared , " I ’m allowed to take $ 500 bills because I ’m the banker . That ’s what banksdo , they have tidy sum of money . " )
Prospective Calvinball player shouldconsult the official rule , read theWikipedia hoagie - entry on Calvinball(which is praiseworthily full of citations ) , orlearn more about Nomic .
