Definition: Not just the chaotic game from the comics, but the strategic art of retroactively changing the rules of any situation to guarantee your own win. It involves introducing spontaneous, nonsensical justifications mid-activity that only benefit you, rendering opponents helpless.
Practitioners thrive in debates, board games, or office politics by treating established structures as mere suggestions. True Calvinball masters weaponize nostalgia or absurdity, turning any rulebook into abstract art while declaring themselves the inevitable champion.
Example: When the meeting concluded Sarah disliked, she retroactively declared only ideas referencing childhood cartoons counted, absurdly justifying her own rejected pitch as the winner.
Mid-Monopoly, Jake claimed hotels built on green properties earned triple rent only if the owner hummed, a nonsensical rule change ensuring his declared victory that turn.