Original artwork, not a still
The only permanent rule in Calvinball is that you can't play it the same way twice!
— Calvin and Hobbes ‧ 1985
Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
Calvinball is Watterson's argument against organised play: a game that exists to be made up, so nobody can lose to a rulebook. The one permanent rule, that nothing stays permanent, is the joke fans repeat when someone changes the terms mid-argument. It has become shorthand for improvised rules in everything from office politics to tabletop games.
Context reviewed
In context
Spoilers for Calvin and HobbesShow the scene
Calvinball is Calvin and Hobbes' game with no fixed rules, introduced in 1990 in a storyline after Calvin quits the school baseball team he had been pushed into joining; GoComics dates the first named game to May 5, 1990. Calvin and Hobbes invent and change the rules as they go, so each game differs from the last. The only fixed ideas, according to Wikipedia's summary, are that it is never played with the same rules twice and that players wear masks, the first cited to a May 27, 1990 strip.
Sources (2)
- Wikipedia: Calvin and HobbesCalvinball sectionReference checked
- GoComics: Calvinball rulespage summary via searchReference checked
Context reviewed
