Time to grow up? Nah, let’s party

EVERY child knows how to play rock paper scissors -- just not quite the way Party Scammers plays it.

At the fourth annual RPS Rumble in April, a woman in a short pink dress calling herself the Lion Tamer beat other costumed contestants, including the Fist and Dr. Dreidel, to face off against defending champion Caine in the final round.

As a cheering crowd pressed close, Caine cocked his index and middle fingers in the scissors sign. Simultaneously, the Lion Tamer spread her leather-gloved palm flat. Scissors beats paper, and the man in the Chinese-style linen suit had triumphed yet again.

A few weeks later, another Party Scammers event: This time it was Tetris, a fast-paced geometric video game that is nearly as universal as rock paper scissors for computer-savvy Americans under the age of 35.

“What better thing to do while you’re lit than play a game of Tetris?” noted Errol Barrois, a film and video editor whose score of 186,832 wasn’t enough to earn him a berth in the final round of the contest, held at the Little Temple nightclub in Silver Lake and co-sponsored by the Internet radio station and DJ collective Dublab.

The common denominator at Party Scammers events is a kitschy madness -- part Halloween, part knowing hipster, part plain old fun.

There is usually a game of some kind, accessible to all yet rewarding eccentric skills like scoring 800,000 points in Tetris or spraying paintball pellets accurately while dressed in colonial garb.

At Party Scammers, young adults take goofy pleasure in revisiting their childhoods, wearing juvenile costumes and playing juvenile games with drinks in their hands while DJs or live bands provide the soundtrack.

There is nothing quite like it on the L.A. party scene. Whether it is rock paper scissors, Tetris, lip-syncing or the upcoming Your 8 Year Old Birthday Party, each event has an unmistakable Party Scammers vibe.

There is usually little or no cover charge (Lip-Synch was $3; Tetris $7), and anyone who signs up can participate in the games.

Party Scammers was born four years ago when Mark Dischler attended a party under the 1st Street bridge -- later the site for the RPS Rumble and other events -- and played rock paper scissors for money with some friends.

As he reflected on how much fun the impromptu game had been, he thought about doing it again and inviting others -- several hundred others.

The hook would be a rock paper scissors contest where the players dressed up as wacky characters. When people commit to doing something that outrageous, he reasoned, they are bound to invite all their friends to watch, and his door receipts would be assured.

“I realized if I could get 16 people to commit to competing and dress up as characters, it would be like a guaranteed party, and everyone would show up,” said Dischler, a 31-year-old computer consultant with degrees in anthropology and Japanese from Washington University in St. Louis.

If you’re grumpy, or just a fundamentally serious person, it might be difficult to appreciate the multifaceted riot of a Party Scammers event. But some who attend for the first time feel an instant rapport with Dischler’s sensibility.

Comedian Ryan Flynn was hooked after attending his first Party Scammers event a year ago. He now hosts many of the parties in the guise of various outrageously attired characters.

At last month’s Lip-Synch Big Stink, where the top prize went to a woman in a white dress pantomiming Bjork’s “It’s Oh So Quiet,” Flynn took the stage as Chaz, a straight-talking guy with Rod Stewart hair who unselfconsciously flaunts a 32-inch male apparatus made of foam.

On Monday, at El Cid in Silver Lake, Party Scammers will co-host Your 8 Year Old Birthday Party with the comedy group Garage Comedy. Flynn will play a spoiled boy who thinks every day is his birthday. Guests can pretend they’re also turning 8 and play hot potato and musical chairs, or strike a pinata.

“We’re creating an environment where people come together to make something different happen,” Flynn said.

“At comedy clubs, there’s a negative vibe. At concerts, everyone’s too cool. It’s an environment in L.A. where people can let loose and be creative.”

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Party Scammers

What: Your 8 Year Old Birthday Party

Where: El Cid, 4212 Sunset Blvd., L.A.

When: 9 p.m. Monday

Price: Free

Info: www.partyscammers.com