h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I was thrilled to see this article!



I used to work at a kid's arts camp and we used to play a version of Calvinball. It was quite fun -- if a bit hectic.

~Beeblefish

... and the details of your art camp Calvinball are ... ?

Let me guess a rule: If the glob of paint out of the tube ends up on YOUR shoes, you're IT.

Unless you're standing in the Van Gogh zone, where you then grab a tube of blue paint (any shade) and try to make it land on someone else's shoes... If you only have one ear, you score double.

~Irving

... and the girl holding the ear gets a free move.

The only way to get your ear back is to be hit with the calvinball

~Irving

I don't think even the Calvinball will get the ears back for these guys with their mega-decibel car stereos. Sheeesh, it sounds too loud to me, and I'm in another car ... a few rock stars have tried to warn people about the hearing loss they've had, not much help, it seems.

What was that? I can't hear you? Did you say something about topic-drift?

~Irving

Yup, I hate topic drift, unless its me doing the drifting. Then, of course, its inspired.

OK, Calvinball. I looked at your page, you are in college? When I was in college, in the LAST CENTURY (sheeesh), we played "Volley Wall Ball", on a handball court, with a net, and shots off the wall were fair. It was actually a pretty good game.

So what are collegians playing these days?

Right, I know this thread is pretty much abandoned, but I had to say something. The game you mentioned, at least at Purdue (West Lafayette, IN) is called Wally Ball! We always thought that someone around school had invented it once since new students never know what it is. Good to know someone else knows

Trinity -

Ah, a fellow Midwesterner

I grew up in Okla. City, went to a small Catholic highschool. When I arrived at a university in Houston, TX, I had never seen a handball court, I think. Much less Wally Ball. Or SERIOUS Frisbee team competition.

I did have some fencing lessons in highschool, but, alas, my school never did "Hamlet".

I feel so much more at home now.

At least you had fencing in high school! I keep trying desperately to fit fencing or kendo into my schedule, but next semester I'll be carrying 16-18 hours and working.

Man, the ultimate frisbee teams... They're crazy. Absolutely certifiable. And they always have the best sidewalk ads. (Much to the groundskeeping folks dismay, the primary way of advertising callouts, etc. at Purdue is by taping them to the sidewalks.)

Getting hit with the calvinball should return your ear only if it's thrown in good nature by a teammate. Unless, of couse, they've defected. In that, case, you loose your other ear and have to trick someone into coming to the silent zone and then stealing their ears.

Defection, now that's a tactic you don't see often. Reminds me of a chess puzzle in "GAMES" magazine (their April issue ). White to move and mate in one, or similar. White could promote a pawn to a Queen or any piece, but it would just be taken, leaving the game even. The answer was to promote the white pawn to a BLACK bishop, thus smothering the Black King among his own troops.

Not sure if the rules of Chess allow this, but of couse the rules of Calvin are more ... malleable.