"We're like handshadows illuminated by stars, and the shadow on the wall, lit by a star, is really a shadow of what isn't us." —Gary Barwin

An illustration from a 1920 issue of Good Housekeeping magazine.

An illustration from a 1914 issue of Century Illustrated magazine.

(The following is our Guest Blog post for DeepFun.com)

The classic hand game of Rock-Paper-Scissors has a shadow side — quite literally. It’s played partially in the dark. Each move casts shadows on the wall. And the rules are reversed to whimsical results.

Requirements:

• a blank wall – a canvas for shadow-casting
• a lamp easily turned off and on (the sole illumination in the room)
• two handy players
• one scorekeeper/storyteller (scorekeeping is optional, a player may act as scorekeeper, especially if the lamp has a foot-operated switch)
• spectators (occupancy not to exceed fire marshall’s restrictions, of course) (also optional)

When the scorekeeper initiates darkness, each player opaquely forms one of three hand gestures in front of the lamp. At the count of three, the scorekeeper lets there be light, and the gesticulative shadows are writ large on the wall.

The so-called Rock is actually a Paperweight.

The so-called Paper is actually a Paper Doll (a butterfly, a bunny, a goat, or any other hand shadow figure the player desires)

The so-called Scissors are still cutting blades, but let’s call them Snippers just to be different.

Traditional Game	Shadow Game
Paper covers the Rock	Paperweight sensibly covers the Paper Doll and the Paperweight wins.
Scissors cut the Paper	Paper Doll is born of the Snippers and the Paper Doll wins.
Rock crushes the Scissors	Paperweight *sharpens* the Snippers and the Snippers win.

As a mnemonic, Snippers *need* to be sharp in order to fulfill their destiny, Paper Dolls *need* to be snipped in order to take shape and fulfill their destiny, and Paperweights *need* to rest upon Paper Dolls because everyone requires downtime to flatten out, relax, and recharge so as to fulfill their destinies.

There are three possible ties. In the traditional game, these are simply ignored. In the Shadow Game, these are celebrated as follows:

Both players throw	Both players act out
Paperweight	Shadow boxing
Snippers	Running with scissors
Paper Doll	The scorekeeper becomes a storyteller when two Paper Dolls grace the wall and interact as a shadow-puppetshow ensues

An illustration from an 1878 issue of Harper's magazine.

The brighter the light, the deeper the shadows: an illustration from a 1908 issue of Life magazine.

An illustration from an 1869 issue of Harper's magazine.  The caption reads: "Specture of the Brocken."

For Martha Brockenbrough.

"The Spirit of the Dusk":  an illustration from a 1901 issue of Frank Leslie's Popular Monthly magazine.

An illustration from an 1897 issue of The Ludgate Illustrated magazine.  The caption reads: "Look!  He has no shadow!"

An illustration from a 1907 issue of Century Illustrated magazine.  The caption reads: "All around the great shadow balloon was a radiant lunar rainbow."

An illustration from a 1902 issue of The Strand magazine.

Staring into the depths: an illustration from an 1897 issue of Pall Mall magazine.  The caption reads: "It was vague, but less vague than a shadow."

"Our shadows: the bond that ties us to the earth, the black ghost that emanates from us, revealing the death within us, where light strikes our bodies!"
—Gustav Meyrink, The White Dominican

From Prof. Oddfellow's sketchbook: