Four Square game

The four square game is a great way to allow children to have fun and be active outdoors. They will play this game for hours, at any age.

What you need:

• A ball (preferably a rubber ball about tennis ball size, or larger for younger kids)

Number of players:
2+ (but best played with 4+)

Activity:

With chalk, mark out four squares on the ground that touch each other to make one large square. If you are only playing with 2 players, use two of the squares each.

Each player stands in a square which have a rank order. Highest rank is king, then queen, prince and joker.

The king starts the game by bouncing the ball in his square once and then hitting it into one of the other player’s square.

After the ball has bounced in the receiving player’s square, they then hit the ball into the square of any other player. If the ball bounces in a player’s square they must hit it to another square or they are out.

A player is out if they:

• Fail to hit the ball into another square
• Allow the ball to bounce more than once in their square
• Hit the ball out of the large square or onto an inside line. Bouncing on an outside line is considered “in”. Bouncing the ball on an inside line is not allowed.
• Hold, catch or carry the ball
• Hit the ball with something other than their hands
• Hit the ball when the ball did not bounce in their squareWhen a player is out, he moves into the lowest ranking square (joker) and all other players move up to fill in the gaps. Or, if there are more than 4 players, the next player comes in at the Joker square and the losing player sits out until another player loses.