Is Calvinball a game?

http://www.solitaryway.com/calvin/cb_rules.htm

So here we have... a game where the only rule is... you can make your own rules anytime in the game. You can introduce certain elements into the game at any one point in time.... wait a min sounds very familar... seems like I had experienced this somewhere before...


Ah yes, in the compuuter and video games I play of course! They are known as cheat codes! Find a level too tough? Enter god mode, allweapons on code. Wanna modify gameplay experience? Enter big head mode, low gravity modifier code! So taking this perspective and put it into calvinball, you find that it is still essentially considered a 'game'. Let's frame calvinball into the definition as said in the lecture:

A game is a voluntary interactive activity, in which one or more players follow rules that contrain their behavior, enacting an artificial conflict that ends in a quantifiable outcome.

Every game needs to have this magic circle, an area where the play is being conducted. In calvinball the magic circle is defined on the fly by the player. At this pt it seems unfair and without boundaries. But why not treat this magic circle as 'virtually expandable'? Calvinball still exist within a frame (an editable frame I would say, but a frame nevertheless) that is specially demarcated by the players themselves. The players would still need to create meanings out from the zones they play in.

The contridicting part lies in the the game not having the distinct boundary. I would see it as players can lay 'mindfields' in any way possible. Analogy would be suddenly turning a water area into ice. If looking at a computer game, you realise it is but part of a strategy to win. Making the boundaries or the area to be at your advantage.... I guess calvinball's still valid as a game at this point... let's move on.

Calvinball is definitely interactive and need players to be involved. So the main questions lies in the rules making - how can this be called a game where rules are decided and bended as and when possible? For example... playing sissors, paper stone.. and suddenly the player changed the rule and uses 'gun' to take out paper and scissors! When I was young, the 'gun' sign actually represented scissors paper and stone combined! The opponent will definitely be upset about it and would find this cheating.

Yet... calvinball is different in a sense that players.. before playing the actual game, would have the expectancy that rules are going to be changed on the spot... that is part of the rules for this game!

The only official, non breakable rule of this game would be the donning of the mask. This is the jersey or uniform of the game. By wearing the mask, players in a sense will need to come into agreement with the terms that this is a highly disorganised game but you have the full power to control over things.

Personally, think this game can turn out to be either very fun, or simply unplayable. It's very dependent on the players whether the experience would be good. It's like inputting cheat codes in games... certain codes would probably help you out and you would get the fun out of killing monsters while being invinsible. But in multi player games this would be highly undesired and players would call you a hacker. Yet if the rules and codes are agreed upon by the players... the game would prove to be fun for all.

So my answer... yes, calvinball's a game, but only when players come to terms with the rules made on the fly... otherwise it's just a mess!