Four Square: An Outdoor Game That's Challenging and Fun

Bouncing Ball Game Can Be Played Many Ways

Introduction

Playing four square is a great way to build coordination and teach good sportsmanship. The kids will love progressing from being a peasant to being the king!

Ages

Four square is appropriate for school age children.

Equipment Needed

Four square can be played with a standard playground ball that is about 10 inches in diameter, or it can be played with a king-sized ball. You will also need some chalk.

Where to Play

A driveway or other hard-surfaced area is needed for four square.

How to Play

Draw off a 10-ft. square with the chalk, then divide into 4 even squares. Number them 1-4, going clockwise. Draw a diagonal line in 1's box, to be the serving spot. The player in the 1 square is known as the king. Number 2 is the queen, while Number 3 is known as the jack, and Number 4 is the peasant. The point of the game is to advance to the king's spot and stay there as long as possible.

The king serves by bouncing the ball into any of the three boxes. The player whose square receives the ball must hit it into another square. The ball can be hit in the air or after one bounce. Play continues until a player fails to return the ball. At that point, that player has to move to the peasant's spot, and the other players advance.

Variations
There are many different conventions for naming the four squares. Some players just refer to them by their numbers, but kids get a kick out of becoming the king.

When playing with more than four children, children can rotate in and out. A player who is demoted goes to the end of the line.

Official four square rules are fairly complex, but you may not want to introduce the game using a lot of rules. Indeed, you may want to modify rules to fit the situation. For example, when playing with younger children, it's okay to allow them to catch the ball before bouncing it back to their opponents.

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