City Councilor Sam Seidel made an appearance at Squarefour's recent game to congratulate Christian Housh on earning his recent title of the Men's Four Square World Champion. It's a great thing that the City of Cambridge can get behind our small organization. Christian Housh was resolved right into Cambridge history as "one of the great people who eat, sleep, work and play in the our city."

Pictured above is Christian Housh (aka Tiger Claw) and Councilor Sam Seidel and the rest of our four square league.

A long time ago, we started the Wikipedia article on Four Square and since then it has grown into a very useful summary of how to play the game. It was also a repository for any grade schooler to toss in his or her special rules, which unfortunately doesn't jive with Wikipedia's citation and original research policies.

Our own league member Kayle recently recovered a huge list of special rules that had been edited out of the original Wiki article and we present it here for posterity. Here it is, unabridged and unabashed, just as it was originally presented in Wikipedia...

Special Gameplay Rules

7-Up: Each player that hits the ball must call out a number one higher than the previous until the number seven is reached. The one who is hitting the ball on 7 or a number that ends in 7 must skip that number; failure to do so results in the player being out.

Aerials: This allows balls to be hit in the air without bouncing first.

Around The World: Any player in possession of the ball may call Around the World regardless of rank at any moment. If it is called, the calling player can hit it to an adjacent square, and that person must hit it to the remaining adjacent square until it reaches the player who called it, at which point the game returns to normal. A "permanent" version may be called, in which case the sequence must continue until a player gets out, even if it reaches the caller.

Around the World: touch the front corner with foot then proceed touching all other corners of player’s square. Last one to touch the center square is out

Backboards (Treetops, Double tap): Hitting the ball upwards into the air one time before hitting it into another player's square, often used to give a player a better aim.

Black Magic: Has different connotations depending on where the game is played. In one variation, a player can catch another player’s ball above the waist during play and call Black Magic on the hitter, who must then do any number of actions for the rest of the game such as standing on one foot, left handed play only, etc. In another variation, catching the ball will make either the striker or catcher out depending on who calls "Black Magic" first.

Baubling (Bubbles, Double Touches, Popcorn, Juggling, etc.): A way to get around holding the ball, one bounces it lightly between their hands before hitting it to another square.

Black Magic: King says “black magic” while twirling a ball in hands before throwing it at another player. When they throw it, they yell “dare!” If the player does not catch it, they must perform a dare of the Kings designation.

Bottle Caps (Isolation, etc.): The server may invoke this at any point during play, on any of the other three players. Once a player has been declared bottle capped, he or she is put on pause and must squat for the remainder of the round, or until their bottle cap is revoked by the same server who declared it. This player's square also becomes out-of-bounds until the bottle cap ends.

Bomb: The server places the ball in the middle of the court and calls Bomb. All players must then touch the ball; the last one to touch the ball is out.

Body Hits (or parts): The player is allowed to use a specified part of their body to hit the ball, their head or foot for example. In some countries, this rule is called "Soccer Rules" and the ball may only be hit by the head or foot.

Bus Stop: A rule where two hits are allowed. There are three types of bus stops. If the ball is stopped in the air, bounces once in that person's square, then hit again, this is one variation. The other variation is if the ball bounces in the person's square, is hit and then hit again without another bounce. The third variation involves the King to call "bus stop," and the last player to touch the inner corner of their square with their foot is out.

Bounce Stop: Like a bus stop, in that the person hits the ball twice, but with one more bounce. The ball bounces once, is hit by that player, it bounces again in that person's square, then is hit again. With standard bounce stops, the second bounce must be in the person's square, but a special "out of bounds bounce stop" can be called which allows the second bounce to occur out of bounds.

Bus Stop: King calls bus stop and another players name before throwing the ball away from the court. All players count to twenty while the player whose name was called runs to retrieve ball and return to king. If they fail to do so by the count of 20, the player is out.

Catching: When the person catches the ball before it bounces in their square, dubbing the passer out (e.g. King serves to Jack, Jack catches it before bounces in Jack's square. King is now out). Usually the catching player must say some kind of code word when catching, which varies from school to school, or he himself is out.

Catching between one’s legs (The Annihilator): If this is called, and a player catches the ball between his or her legs (typically between the knees), all players except for the person to catch the ball are out. The person completing the play then moves to the serving position.

Categories: In this version, the server names a category (e.g. types of drinks or girls' names) before play starts, and each player must name something in that category (that nobody has named yet in the round) when they hit the ball. If a player fails to come up with an accurate item in the category, they are out.

Cherry: In Australia, players are not normally allowed to hit the ball in another player's square with out hitting into their own square first. However, it is sometimes accepted to hit the ball into another player's square on the full if the players call "cherry." The player must hit the ball upward, i.e. they cannot hit it downward or slam it into someone else’s square. Sometime cherry can be abbreviated to just "chez" to make it easier to say. Other variants are "e-mail" and "postman".

Cherry Bomb: When a player grabs the ball and throws it hard into any square. The attacking player must say "Cherry Bomb". This is generally the hardest ball to return.
"Chicken _____" or "Duck _____" (Shoe Shine, etc.): When the ball hits any part of the body other than the hands or chest: a "Chicken Foot" is when the ball hits a player's foot, etc. If "Chicken Feet" is enforced, the player who hit the other player's feet with the ball is out instead of the hit player.

Circle rule: This rule applies when a circle is drawn around the court, at least four feet from the boundary line. When burning an opponent, a player must hit so the first bounce after the burn occurs inside the circle. Otherwise, that player is out. Aside from preventing lost or hard-to-retrieve balls, this rule makes slams more difficult, requiring "power players" to alter their game and use more skill.

Corners: All players must go to the outside corner of their square. The last person to do so is out.

Death Rally: If the server chooses to allow them, any player may call a "Death Rally" (also known as

"Battle", "Duel", "War", "Showdown", "Tea Party", etc). The two players may only hit the ball to each other until one of these two players is eliminated. If a player calls a Death Rally off at the right moment and quickly puts the ball in another it is called a Sneak or Stealth Attack, and the player who was attacked will often not be able to react to the sudden attack.

"Duel" or "Teams": At any time any player may call deul or teams. They will team up with an adjacent square against the other two squares. Such as 4 & 3 vs. 2 & 1. The ball may bounce only once in one square but twice in a teams rectangle. When an out is made both players on the team are out.

"Do Over" or "Redo" (term varies from school to school): Term used when there is a dispute, players are unsure of a decision, or the line judge determines that the previous play was too close to call or invalidated by an outside interruption. The ball is re-served with no eliminations.

Dodge Ball: If a player is able to catch the ball before it bounces in any square or out of bounds, the game play shifts to Dodge Ball, wherein all players must abide by the standard rules for the game Dodge Ball. This entails the player with the ball not taking more than three steps, and attempting to throw another player out by striking them with the ball (recommended only with soft large rubber balls). If the target player catches the ball or the ball misses all players the player who threw the ball is out.

Double Bounces: The ball can (or sometimes must) bounce twice in a player's square before he hits it. If it bounces any other number of times before the receiver hits it, he is out. If it bounces once in and then once out of a player's square, the hitter is out.

Dot to dot: all players must touch the center corner, the back corner, and then the center corner again. The last player to return to the center is out

Fair Serve (No Blood on Serve, etc.): A common rule in which players cannot get out on the serve. For example, if the server hits the ball out on serve, he is given a second chance; likewise, if a player misses the ball after it is served to him, he also gets a "redo." The term "Outs on Serves" is sometimes used to indicate that there is no Fair Serve; such a rule is usually invoked to make the game move faster.

Fair Return: Usually called along with "Fair Serve" in a two-square variant. A Fair Return is one that can easily be hit by the server after the initial serve is made.

Fairy Bomb: When a player catches the ball they may jump in the air as if about to throw a cherry bomb but instead softly say, "Fairy bomb," and lightly drop the ball in another player's square.

Faking (Psyche Out, Teardrop, etc.): A hit where a player acts like he will slam the ball, but instead barely taps it so the other player will miss it.

Final Play (Last Play, Last Round, and Final Rally): In Australia, this term is used to denote the last round of play due to the end of the break period. This would usually confirm the winner for the day. Final Play could include a duel of the top two squares.

Friendsies: Allows the players to play balls that did not land in their square and would have otherwise made another player out for the purpose of continuing game play.

Grandfather Clock: All players on the court take turns throwing the ball in the air and clapping as many times as they can. The player with the lowest number of claps is out.

Holding (Grabbing, etc.): Usually a player can only hit the ball and not hold it, but some rules allow holding the ball for half a second or less if using a special move.

Ice Cream Cone: During game play and when the server has the ball he/she must yell out "ice cream cone". When the server does, they grab the ball and run to the center of the four square. The other players must rush to get their feet outside of the boundaries. The last player to get their feet outside of the boundaries is out.

Intercepting (Poaching, etc.): Term used for a player other than the intended receiver grabbing and/or hitting the ball in play. This often happens if the ball passes through one player's square but does not bounce in it.

King's Court: Disputes are resolved by the serving player instead of a line judge. Land mines: a portion of a square is an automatic out for the player in that square, marked in some way (chalk, tape, etc.); customarily the portion increases with increasing square number.

Letters: If the squares are labeled, all players must touch the letter in their square as soon as this is called; the last person to do so is out.

Liner: (Laser lines, poisonous lines, etc.): When the ball hits a line, the player that hit it is usually out, although a myriad of rules have been made up for this occurrence (see "Liner Mini-Games" below).

Lumberjacks (Battle Royale, etc.): When a lot of people are playing, the extras circle around the court (or standing on the circle if there is a circle rule). Those standing around the court are the lumberjacks. When the ball is hit out, the lumberjacks hit the ball back in so the game does not stop. When a player is called out, the remaining players continue against each other. The game ends when only one of the four original players remains.

Master Key Lock: The rules cannot be changed unless the person who called this gets out of the game.

Midget World: The King may call "Midget World" before they serve and all players must play in squatting position for the match.

Mini Michael Jordan: The next round is played with all players in the squatting position. "Must accept" (Ready or not): A receiver must hit the serve regardless of interference or if they are not ready.

Off-Serve: The player who received service is required to hit the ball back to the server.

Open Book: Any player can change the rules regardless of whether or not they are the server if this is enforced.

Passback: If a player calls Passback during a game, the next person must hit it back to that player.

Pick Up: Players are allowed to pick up the ball when it bounces at a height specified by those playing or the server. In some places, rules require players to call "pick Up", "picks" or "grabs" when doing this.

Play On: This is called when a decision is made to continue play, despite the call being close. "Play On" must be called immediately by the judge or server after the bounce, or a dispute may occur.

Poison: In Australia, a person of any rank may call poison if he or she is not ready. The game continues without the player and the player resumes his / her participation with the call "medicine".

Popcorn (different from Bobbling): A player calls out "Popcorn x" with x being any number. If called during play, the receiving player must throw the ball in the air, clap the number of times specified, and then catch the ball. Or, the king throws the ball in the air and claps one or more times before catching it. The next player must do the same but with one more clap than the king. Each subsequent throw must increase in number of claps, and failure to complete a toss results in an out (sometimes with two tries per player)

Revenge: When the server is out, he may choose to call Revenge, or King's Revenge. The player who is now server must engage in a Death Rally with the former server (See Death Rally above).

Rolling (Bowling, etc.): A player hits the ball so low that the ball rolls. Usually the player who rolled it is out.

Sentences: In this version, the server begins a sentence by saying one word, and each play must continue the sentence or end it by saying period. If they fail to continue the sentence logically, they are out. (An example: "I love playing four square period").

Services: When the ball is about to be served, any player may call "Service" and the server must automatically play the ball to them, unless they chose to overrule it, at which point no other player may call service on that serve. If multiple people attempt it, the first to call is given the honor. A player may also call "Service no overrules" which will force the server to play the ball to him.

Sharking (Skunk, Sting, etc.): Aiming directly for any part of an opponent's body rather than playing it normally. If the sharker hits the opponent, the opponent is out. If the opponent dodges the ball, the sharker is usually out (because the ball did not bounce in his or her own square).

Slamming ‘‘(High Bounces, Treetops, Cherry Bombs, etc.): Hitting the ball in such a way that it bounces a considerable distance over the receiver's head. More than for being hard to receive, this move is often discouraged for risk of the ball becoming stuck on a roof, in a tree, etc. Defensive moves against slams, such as using one's body to stop the ball from flying out of bounds, are often given names themselves, such as "Tiananmen Square".

Sleepover: all players sit down with their legs apart touching feet with the person on either side of them. All the players roll around the ball until it touches a foot. The player who rolled the ball before it touched the foot is out.

Spinning ((Texas) Twisters, Screwballs, Peppermint Sticks, etc): Hitting the ball, usually with both hands, in such a way that a spin is imparted on it, causing it to bounce unusually.

Style Points: In some variations, style points are awarded to players who exhibit excellent or rare form during play, and/or artistically hit the ball (such as under one's legs); depending on the rules at that school or location, style points can be used to exempt a player from one out, or award other bonuses as players agree upon them.

Tapping (Babies, Tiny Tims, etc.): Hitting the ball in such a way that it barely bounces off the ground and likewise goes across a very small horizontal distance.

Toesies: A variation on "Chicken Feet" (see above) in which one player aims the ball directly at another player's toes. If the ball connects all players must rush to the center and place their toes in the middle. The last player to put their toes in is eliminated.

Two and Up: If the ball bounces in one player's square twice before the owner of the square hits the ball, the player can tap the ball upward into another player's square while saying "two and up" and not be eliminated.

Typewriter: A rule in which a player grabs or baubles the ball, moves close to an adjacent square, and bounces the ball in that square a predetermined number of times. The usual variant is to spell out the opponent's name, one letter per bounce. If the player successfully completes the move, the opponent is out. If the opponent hits the ball to disrupt the spelling, the person who initiated the typewriter is out.

Mini Games

Creative players around the world dream up exciting varieties that break out of normal game play entirely. This Side and Line Games section will lay out some of the best known mini-games to take place on (or off) the court.

When the ball hits a line (or in some cases, a wall), the game will usually stop with a player being eliminated, a special rule will be enforced, or the players will go directly into a mini-game.

Possibilities include the following:

• The person who hit the line automatically getting "out".
• The server calling a re-do.
• The players continuing play as if the ball was in one of the players' squares, and if no player continues, it is a re
• Multiple players being eliminated if the line between them is hit by the ball.
• A dispute resolution, as outlined in the Disputes section above.

Some servers call one of the following side-games:

• Shark Attack: The person calling Shark Attack may hold the ball and run around on the lines to tag another player, and whoever they tag is eliminated.
• Bubble (not to be confused with baubling/bubbling): If a player calling Liner chooses Bubbles, he or she stands in the intersection, bounces a ball and say "Bubbles times n" The number they call is the amount they have to let the ball bounce for before normal game proceeds. If the ball is about to stop bouncing, a player may tap it up. After the ball has bounced said number of times, normal play continues with the player whose court it lands on hitting it next.
• Rocks: If a player calls Rocks, they bounce the ball hard and slam it into an opponent's court, usually a corner to make it harder. After the hit has been done normal play proceeds. This is also called Footy Rucks because it resembles a ruck contest in Australian rules football.
• Taps: If a player calls Liner and chooses Taps, they place the ball on the line; at that point, any player can run up and lightly tap the ball to another players square.
• Tea Party: A player returning a ball to another player can call a "Tea Party." When this occurs, the match becomes an intense bout between these two players until one is eliminated.

Dear Sean,
Well this is more of like a help thing. When i play 4-square and i am at the diagonal square to the king square, the king serve the ball not diagnol towards me. He serves more like diagonal near towards the queen's square and the ace square/toilet, but STILL in my square, can he even do that? and so if it hit the inside lines, it means you're out right? my other help is can that the other 3 members, i.e. king, queen, toilet, gang up on the square diagonal to the kings (my school calls it the Jack square). They like gang up and doing whatever they can to get you out. Another confused help is referring to the "gang to get you out" rule is that once they get you out, they will keep doing it until they get you out and bring a friend of theirs and play a friendly four square. The ganging team plays vicious to get you out and when their friend comes in, they play it nicely and friendly, not trying to get the person out. And if the ball is too low, you can get a redo right? Is this custom or not? -love, "a confused player" 12/1/2009

Whoa. I'll answer your questions in the order they were received.

• That guy in four square is being a cheating loser. The person serving the ball should understand that his job is to put the ball into fair play, and any control over the first hit of the ball should be given fairly to the receiver. If he is hitting ball into your square in a crappy place, as if he wants to control the way you hit it back or prevent you from hitting it back, then you should institute a rule for where the serve must first touch. A "serve zone" would work, some smaller division of the receiver's square that is in an appropriate place, to force the server to hit it fairly into the square. The alternative is to quit playing with him because he cheats.
• Those three guys kinda suck. There are no friends in four square. Not only are they colluding with each other in anticompetitive nature, they are also hurting themselves by not ganging up on the top player. It's kinda dumb, because the when they gang up on you in one square, the person who gains the most is the person in four square. Again, the alternative is to quit playing with those cheating cheaters.
• The ball being too low? Well. That is another story. If we are talking about serves, then you can make up a rule that prevents server from serving low balls. If the ball is just too low during normal play and you couldn't return it then I think it means you are out.

But I'll stick with my original diagnosis and say again that those kids are cheating and it sounds like it kind of sucks to play games with them. I would say you can try to reorganize a few rules to deal with the bad behavior of a few people, or make it personal andannihilate them as soon as they get on the court with you.

Either way, you'll teach those cheaters a thing or two.

While working on a project for Cartoon Network, Laura McNally played a part in setting a Guinness World Record for the greatest amount of simultaneous four square players. Nice work! She writes:

"I have been wanting to send you this email for awhile. However, it took Guinness literally six months to go through all the witness statements, photos, and paperwork before we heard back from them. Long story short, Cartoon Network hired my firm to promote National Recess Week (March 2-6). So after a massive amount of coordination, we had 44 schools from across the country play four square at exactly noon EST on 3/3/09. Guinness counted us in a grand total of 3,176 players. Here are just a few of the photos. I thought you might find this pretty cool!!"

Velvetron contacted us over the summer to tell us that they were working on the official soundtrack for the sport of four square and I wanted to be sure that these guys got some love. With the new 2010 winter season coming up on us, now is the time to bring these efforts to light! They said:

"My band-mates and I have been huge 4-square enthusiasts for years, and we recently produced a podcast that is all about 4-Square. Additionally, we've posted a streaming radio playlist of music we think suits 4-Square play well."

Feel free to check them out at http://www.velvetron.net

Dear Sean,
i would like to know if a 'phantom' hit is allowed? here is an example of what i mean. a ball is returned from square 1 to square 2 (my square). it bounces once and carries into square 4. i approach the ball and act as though i am going to hit it in a certain direction/part of square 4, and just as my hand is about to hit the ball, i stop. i allow the ball to continue in the direction that it was traveling while only slightly grazing the ball with my fingers. the ball, having hardly any of its momentum taken away from it, would continue to bounce in square 4 with the owner of that square out of position because of where i was feigning to hit the ball. is this legal? my friends were claiming that it was an illegal move because you couldn't see any clear alteration in the path of the ball. i contested that as long as i touched the ball (no matter how slight or hard) it counted as a hit. what would the ruling be? - George, 7/14/2009

George, listen, what you are asking is if the player must hit the ball firmly enough for an official to perceive a change in the ball's motion and trajectory.

There are a couple of sports that do this and they all have good reasons for it, and I suppose there should be a similar rule for four square. They do this in other sports to make the players prove that they made contact, otherwise it is just as your friends said, why would they trust you when you say you hit it but they couldn't see it. It's only a short leap for a player to flat out lie about their contact with the ball.

So as the commissioner of the Boston four square league, I will make this change to the official rules as of right now. I think this is a great addition that adds a new level of clarity in an otherwise murky arena of playground games.

But, listen, George. Up until right now, you actually had no rule to obey. So go tell your friends that your play was 100% legit until that Masshole down in Boston revised the official rules. You should glean whatever bragging privileges you can take as the person who single handedly changed the course of four square history.

Dear Sean,
You stated the court size is 16' square... Are you sure? I am not an American and use the International Metric System - but when I converted it into my system the size is ridiculuously small. Not sure your math skills (we hear a lot about very low American education level here) - but 16' square is 4'x4' (about 1.2m each side!!!) and then divided further into four squares... means each square is 2'x2'... - can an American guy fit into this square at all??? Don't think so. Can you please look into it again, amend it and preferrably show International Metric System sizes. Thanks and regards from Sweden. - Luke, 6/17/2009

Dividing our 16-foot court (4.87 meters) into quarters yields four 8-foot squares (2.43 meters). Our fat, uneducated American people fit in their squares just fine.

Dear Sean,
Hi. I saw the rules on your site and I like them, but where can I find the OFFICIAL four square rules? I play with some friends who poach all the time, and they want the official rules to prove it's not allowed. They don't believe the rules on your site since they aren't considered official. Thanks. - Tyler 5/26/2009

Tyler. It's about time someone brought this up.

The way I see it, if you are searching on Google with the phrase official four square rules and our rules turn up as number one, and the article we wrote for Wikipedia turned up as at least number three, it's a pretty good indication that we are as official as it gets.

And if you can find another organization that hosts a Four Square World Championship that plays by rules other than these, I'd like to know about it!

Dear Sean,
I'm a youth worker at a church K-8 after school program near Kansas City. The kids show up for three hours when school lets out. We lead games and activities that try to teach church values.

We've got all kinds of activities but the most popular is box ball. Kids go bananas for it. They would play all afternoon if we let them. The problem is that the games usually turn into riots, name calling, and sometimes fights. I don't know what comes over them and I've started to jokingly refer to it as "the devil's game". But its a church program, so no one else thinks its very funny when I say it.

Anyway, do you have any tips on how we can change the game so that it doesn't turn kids into monsters. The folks here want to ban the game. What do you think? - Evan T. 5/3/2009

The biggest problem that we face on the playground, at any time and under any situation, is the lack of structure and supervision. Without it our duck-duck-goose turns into slap-slap-punch and the fattest monkeys never get out of the middle.

Four square is one of those games that can be open to infinite interpretation. One of the most exciting elements of the game is that the rules can be bent, broken and born anew by any kid that gets to the fourth square. Everyone wants the chance to make their opponents do humiliating things like howl like a monkey after each hit or open up the rules to allow the use of the one tactic that will render them invincible.

More so, a lot of fighting a breaks out because the rules are so fuzzy. Was that an over hand hit? Was the serve too fast? And then there are kids that are just good at arguing about the rules rather than playing by them. And somehow they always make it to four square.

So, Evan, what you can do it reduce the holy war on the court is seriously tighten up the rules of the game and put limits on what special rules are allowed. Find out what kids fight over and then exorcise it from the court forever. It narrows the path to oblivion and you can steer kids away from it rather than towards it with just a little more structure.

Make the boundaries firm, remove rules that are open to interpretation, don't let kids make stuff up and pass it off as law, and insert a real honest-to-god referee to call the plays. It will make everyone more accountable and they can even direct their hatred at the ref instead of at each other.

A few of these steps and I bet you see an improvement on the court and you won't have to ban anything from the playground.

Dear Sean
Here is a new custom rule, "popcorn". This means any player may hit the ball as many times as he wants in the air after it has bounced once in his square. This rule is similar to double taps. - "the unkown" 4/4/2009

Unknown, huh? Thanks for that note, popcorn is indeed the name of the "unlimited taps" rule where players are allowed to continually hit or bobble the ball until they decided to release it into another court.

Popcorn is also the dirtiest rule I ever saw played on the court. It gives a player unlimited time to set up a shot, and often opens the door for mean and unfair play. It brings back some painful memories of Bridget Hockstetter and her groupies.

She owned recess. She wasn't especially good a four square but once she was sitting pretty in the top square then she intended to never let it go.

Half of the time she would play the offensive tactic of calling other players out on questionable terms. You never had a chance to defend yourself because she would either yell louder than you, have a snappier retort ready before you, or simply start the next game before you could open your mouth. Her cronies in line would help leverage the mob rule, and pretty much whatever Bridget did was the word.

And the other half of the time, she would use the popcorn rule.

Thanks to our long time member Ben LaPointe, you too can be reading live Twitter updates from the Four Square World Championships on Feb 28, 2009. If you can't be there then follow Ben's tweets for messages and photos of the day's progression right here: http://twitter.com/square4playa

In fact, Ben's tweets plus all other public tweets containing the tag "#worldchamps" will be fed into a handy little digest here on Squarefour.org for the entire day.

Catch that page here: http://www.squarefour.org/championtweets

This is just a friendly note to let you all know that we will be at the Four Square World Championships on Feb 28, 2009. To all the good folks in Bridgton, the great people of Portland, all of the UCONN four square team, the barbarians of the north in Newfoundland, and all the citizens of the great nations attending the championships - take a good, hard look at the fiercest competition you'll ever face. See you there.

Dear Sean
I am trying to write a paper on promoting four square. The only problem is there is not a lot of resources out on the internet. Could you help me with some of the pro's of playing four square, so far I only have: you can make it your own game, simple instructions, not a lot of materials, any age group, and hand eye coordination? Please help me out. - Susan 1/17/2009

Listen, Susan, promoting four square comes in a ton of different flavors. Especially if you are writing a paper about it then you really have to start at the beginning. Why are you promoting four square, what is the purpose of the promotion? I could, off the top of my head, suggest three excellent angles that you could take or you could mix them up any way you like. They aren't very far off from the pitches that I make on the Squarefour site. These are:

1. Four Square as Exercise: It's common knowledge that practically any level of activity is good for your body and spirit. There are a lot of folks out there who don't get enough of it as it is. All it takes is 30 minutes of elevated heart rate 3-4 times per week and you are already head and shoulders above the average Amercian couch potato. Four square can do that for you, it can get you active and moving and has the potential to scale so that anyone regardless of athletic ability can get some excercise.
2. Four Square as Community Building: This is a game that draws people together. The simplicity and low barrier to entry that four square offers really lends itself to playing with wide ranges of people. The revolving door nature of the game mixes players up constantly, forms new alliances between players, gives the players the chance to gang up and defend one another, and even waiting in line is a chance to interact with other players. It's very social but provides structured ways to interact with people that are always changing and makes it an excellent tool for building and strengthening groups.
3. Four Square as Creative Expression: This game has improvisation as one of it's core elements. It's not like bowling that requires perfect form on each ball toss, and not like volleyball that requires particular ways to hit and return a ball. The rules are so sparse in four square that players are encouraged to make up their own styles and perfect their own way of playing. And an entirely other layer of the game invites kids to make up extra rules, often silly ones, that involve reciting, singing, shouting, dancing, jumping, and more. There aren't a lot of forums where kids can make up silly things to do and its perfectly acceptable to make other kids to do them - and for this reason it's clear that four square has a lot going on for it than just athletics alone.

There are a couple of cons that a good paper on four square should mention (that is if you want the A+ rather than the A-). It's not a sport that is on television so it doesn't get a lot of street cred as "real" athletics and so schools treat it as only a recess game - it has the potential to teach things like strategy, skill, sportsmanship, sharing and caring, and all that jazz. Four square can bring out the worst in kids - the arguing, the fighting, the bad blood - and I think this is due to lack of supervision by adults. Parents and teachers are missing opportunities through their children's play to focus that streak of competition into constructive opportunities for learning and growth. And so it's a shame that this activity can be dominated by a few unchecked aggressive kids, both athletically and socially.

I bet if you mention a couple of these points in your paper you'll do just fine. And if you teacher doesn't like these points then you can give me their number and I'll meet them on the court for a few rounds of squares. Ha, ha, just kidding.

But really, just give me their number.

Dear Sean,
Can a player carry the ball? For example, can a player catch the ball underhand with his or her hands above their waist? Thanks for your response. - Jerry 11/25/2008

Jerry, darned good question. You are asking me if players can carry the ball, and you are asking me if players can catch the ball below the waist. Let me pick these apart.

Normally, players are not allowed to carry, catch or hold the ball between their two hands at any time. Each play should be cleanly hit with either one hand or two hands at the same time. And to reaffirm, players are only allowed to strike the ball with their hands, that is, the part of their arms below the wrists and including all five fingers. Look at this blog for clarity on how to strike the ball: http://squarefour.org/node/573

Now those are the normal rules. But we in four square know that we can add special rules at any time, and two of the special rules we like to play in Boston are the Blackjack rule and the Underhand rule. You can read about those special rules at the bottom of this: http://squarefour.org/rules

When the blackjack rule and the underhand only rule are played together, the act of catching the ball trumps the underhand only rule. That means, if you attempt to catch the ball for a blackjack play then you can grab it any way you like. You should also note thtat our underhand rule makes no specification as to the waist level or not.

Hope this helps clear things up for you, Jerry. Drop us a line if you have more questions.

Dear Sean,
A Big Thank You goes out to you, Sean. I know you have no idea who I am, or where I'm coming from, but I really appreciate everything you have given me, even though you don't know what that is. My friends and I have also been plagued by a deficit of alt sports, living out in the boonies of Kentucky, haha. We created a sport, which has been developing over the past few years "Hantis" and finally realized it could be something special. I've been searching through Google to find other sports websites that shared the humility and care for sports on our level. By browsing your website religiously, you gave me the idea to start our own Local League and website. Please don't get me wrong, I in no way plagiarized or copied your ideas and designs, but your leadership and care for the league gave me hope that I could do the same. Our sport, Hantis, is related to Four Square, but uses tables and a tennis ball instead. The rules are much different, but the concept is the same. Even though we may never meet, I just wanted to let you know that your influence has spread further than Mass and I appreciate the work you've done. Thank You. - Ben F. 10/28/2008

Ben, what can I say, your site is balls out. First, your new sport is crazy and crackdope and if you ever make a trip to Boston I will do my best to crush you at it. Looks like that would be tough work, based on this video it seems you are starting a scene as big as slamball. I should hope that we could trade some rounds of squares for rounds of tables. I'm glad that in some small way our four square league site inspires other folks to get their own things off the ground. Keep up the good work.

PS. My first google turned up results that made me think you lived in Turkey.

Dear Sean,
My 7 year old son is asking me how to play so I have read over your website (thank you for the information by the way). The only question I couldn't answer was "how do you hit the ball during the game" (not in the serve)? Can you use one hand, two hands, open fist, closed fist, etc... - Nicole, 9/11/2008

Hello, Nicole. Thanks for the note. I think I can give you a pretty good answer about our hitting rules.

Here at the Boston league, players hit the ball with any part of their hand from below the wrist to the end of the finger. Much like classic volleyball the hit may be with one hand or two hands as long as both hands strike the ball at the same time. The ball must also be hit only once per player, and at no time are players allowed to hold, catch or carry the ball.

So, if you can make a fist and punch or hammer the ball then you can really pick up some velocity. This is great for spikes and hard hits with adults who are playing for keeps. This might not be appropriate for your 7 year old son and the mixed age group he is playing against.

If you read over the answers to some of the other letters I get then you will see that I advise (heavily) that you scale the rules so they are the most fun and safe for the age or skill of the players. If you want to reduce the number of scraped knees, bruised cheeks, and smashed windows then you could set the rules that there are no closed-fist hits until your kid turns 12 (when theoretically he has a more refined muscle control and a better appreciation of sportsmanship).

But you know, there is a lot to be said for letting little kids pummel each other with playground equipment. I personally believe it builds character for days down the road when we eventually take a beating from bullies, frat boys, bosses, doctors, and eventually our own children. Just saying...

Dear Sean,
I'd like more detailed information on painting lines for a court. How wide are the inside and outside lines, and does the 16' court include the boundary lines or fall within them? Thanks. - John Sisson, 8/25/2008

Thanks for the note, John, this is a great question. It's very timely, as well, since I'm writing the boundaries section of the rule book this week. Here is what I'm writing, you get a sneak peek before it's published.

First let's remind ourselves of the boundary lines and what is in-bounds and out-of-bounds. We work off this "inside out, outside in" principle, which says that the inside lines of the court are out-of-bounds and any player hitting them with the ball is out. The outside lines, however, are considered in-bounds and and balls landing on the outside line is still in play. This means that players can have an 8 foot square where all the surface is playable, in short, the the 16 foot courtside includes the two perpendicular outside lines on each end.

The inside lines are negligible. They should be as thin as possible, even hairline thin, so that the square has as much playable space as possible. The only consideration when painting a thin inside line is to be sure that it is bright or bold or wide enough for visibility. The brighter the better with some players, if you know what I mean.

We typically make all the lines of the court 1-inch thick, coincidentally the same width as a roll of blue painter's masking tape, which our tape of choice for not destroying the finish on basketball floors.

Btw, where in the world do you happen to be painting courts? If you need any confirmed champions to come out and dedicate or christen the court with you, we have agents all over the country and could probably work something out. Good luck and stay in touch!

Dear Sean
Is there a rule about where you need to stand in your square during a serve? While you are in square 2 is it legal to be at the apex of squares 4,3, and 1? Is there anything saying you cannot? I know there is anti-poaching and interference rules, but is there anything saying the person occupying square 2 cannot crowd squares 4,3, and 1 and cause a misdirection of the serve once it is hit in the general direction? - "Bannerism", 7/21/2008

Thanks for the message, "Bannerism". You are actually asking two different questions, let me try to pull them apart.

The easy question you are asking is if can players can stand anywhere they want. The easy answer is yes, they can stand anywhere they want. There is no rule in our league about staying inside your square. If a player wants to crowd another square or run across the room, they take a big risk in being in poor position to defend their square.

You are also asking if players can interfere with a serve. The answer is no. The serves are meant to put the ball into play fairly. If other players were allowed to interfere with the serves then it creates too much opportunity for error and confusion about who should be out. Aside from the server calling special rules at the start of each round, it's actually the first receiver after the serve who starts the game. See how that works?

Squarefour is not the final word in four square since this game is really flexible and scalable - it can be adapted for any level of age or skill. Four square is a lot like poker, it's a widely known and accepted game but there are dozen or more ways to play it. I would leave it up to your local gang on how this is played in your neighborhood.

Hope this helps! Drop me a line if you have more questions or whatever.