Materials

• One or two dodgeballs. (Preferably the size of a playground ball, but lighter.)
• Tape or rope

Preparation

Create a circle using the tape or rope. For a group of 20 kids I will generally make my circle about 15 feet in diameter. The size of the circle is flexible, but you want to leave enough room for people to be able to move with relative freedom, even when the circle is full.

Rules

The Start

First, have a single individual start as the thrower. They will start outside the circle and everyone else should be inside the circle. The thrower is given the ball to throw at those inside the circle.

Gameplay

Once “go” has been shouted, the thrower may begin throwing at those in the circle. The thrower can run anywhere around the circle, but can never go inside the circle, and those that are still “in”, can never go outside the circle. A player can get out the following ways.

• Hit by a ball thrown by those outside the circle.
  • The ball must not touch any surface before contacting the player. (e.g., the floor or a wall.)
  • The ball must be thrown, not kicked or propelled some other way.
  • The ball cannot hit the someone in the head. (This discourages headshots.)
• Hit by a legal (see above) ball that bounced off a teammate first. In this scenario, all players the ball touches are out.
• Leaves the circle.

A player that becomes “out” then joins the thrower outside the circle and helps get “out” those that are still “in”. As gameplay continues, you will eventually have more players outside the circle than inside the circle.

The End

The last player to remain in the circle without getting “out” is the winner. This player is then the thrower for the next game.”

Modifications

• Shrink the circle to reduce playing space towards the end of the game if the throwers struggle to get out the last few players.
• Allow players inside the circle to catch balls thrown by those outside of the circle. If a player outside the circle has their ball caught, they are then completely out of gameplay. This allows the group inside the circle to win.
• Bodyguard Dodgeball