Wall Ball

1. 01

   The wall and the court

   Play against one flat wall with no windows and open, hard ground in front of it. Before the first serve, everyone agrees on the side boundaries of the court and how far back it extends. One bouncy ball — a tennis ball or a rubber ball about that size — is the only equipment. Three or more players is the game; two works but gives nowhere to hide.

1. 02

   Objective

   Avoid outs. You take an out when you make an error and the wall is pegged before you can touch it. Three outs eliminates you from the round. The last player still in wins.

How it's played

1. 03

   Serving

   Any player starts or restarts play by throwing the ball against the wall. The serve is a live throw like any other: it must hit the wall, and everyone may play it. Some playgrounds add self-serve rules — you may not field your own serve, or must let it bounce once — but the baseline serve is open: any player, including the server, may field it.

2. 04

   The throw must reach the wall

   Every throw must hit the wall before it touches the ground. A throw that hits the ground first, or never reaches the wall at all, is a short throw, and the thrower has made an error. A throw that strikes the seam where the wall meets the ground counts as hitting the wall.

3. 05

   One bounce to field it

   After the ball hits the wall, it may bounce on the ground at most once before someone fields it. Fielding it on the fly or after one bounce is a clean field, and the fielder throws next. If the ball bounces a second time before anyone touches it, the ball is dead: nobody has made an error, and the nearest player picks it up and serves. Some playgrounds make a fly catch off the wall send the thrower running; in this baseline a fly catch is just a clean field.

4. 06

   Errors make you run

   You have made an error if your throw is short of the wall, or if you touch a live ball while fielding and it then hits the ground — a drop or a bobble both count. The moment you make an error you are a runner: you must sprint and touch the wall with your hand before the ball beats you there. Touching a ball that has already bounced twice is not an error, because the ball is dead.

1. 07

   The race to the wall

   While a runner is heading for the wall, any other player may field the ball and peg the wall — throw the ball so it hits the wall. If the ball hits the wall before the runner touches it, the runner takes an out. If the runner touches the wall first, the runner is safe and restarts play with a serve. A tie goes to the runner. In this baseline you peg the wall, never the runner; playgrounds that allow pegging the runner's body are playing a rougher variant.

1. 08

   Interference

   You may not block, hold, or shove a runner heading for the wall, and you may not stand in front of a fielder to shield the ball or screen their throw. If interference decides a race to the wall, the play is wiped out: the runner is safe, no out is recorded, and the runner serves to restart.

1. 09

   Three outs and elimination

   Three outs eliminates you: step off the court and wait for the next round. When only one player remains, that player wins the round, and the order everyone went out is the final standing. Many playgrounds spell a word instead — one letter per out, eliminated when it's spelled (W-A-L-L is common); this baseline counts three plain outs.