9-Square

9-Square is a variation of the common playground game 4-square. In 9-square, a set of 3x3 squares is used, and the king is located in the middle. Play rotates clockwise, with the final stop being in the king square.

Rules of play

• The person in the center decides the rules and serves the ball at the start of each round.
• If the ball touches your square, and then touches somebody else’s square or touches out of bounds without you touching the ball, then you are out.
• If you hold onto the ball, then you are out.
• If you touch the ball and the ball has not touched your square, then you are out.
• If you touch the ball twice without it hitting a square, then you are out.
• Serves should be gentle. You may not get out on serves, unless it is your own fault. (Debatable)
• If a player gets out, then they must leave their square, and return to the 1-square. Everyone else rotates up a square.

The person in the center square may call additional rules, which can vary to an enormous extent.

Special rules

• Nothing called: The rules are as normal.
• Old School: Only hands may be used, unless it is unreasonable for one to use hands.
• Body Ball: Hands may not be used.
• Leprosy: The whole body may be used, but you may not touch the ball with the same limb twice in one go. Think of it as having a limb fall off whenever the ball is touched. Upon having someone else touch the ball, all of your limbs are “regenerated”. You may touch the ball as many times as you like, as long as each time is with a different limb. The limbs are: Right and left arm, right and left leg, head, and torso.
• Snake eye/Poison/Empty Square: The ball may not touch this square. You may not step in this square.
• Suicide Square: If you get this square out, you are out instead.
• Kamikaze Square: If you get this square out, you are out as well.
• Immune Square: If you would get this square out, instead, they are not out.

Note: Being called as immune or suicide does not mean that you do not need to play. You may still get out if you are being dumb or lazy.

• Backstops: You may touch the ball once, with any part of your body, before it touches your square. You may hit the ball after the backstop.
• Volleys: You may touch the ball without it ever touching your square.
• Double-Touch: You may touch the ball twice after it touches your square.
• Juggling: You may touch the ball as any times as necessary.
• Iron/Steel Cage: You may not leave your square.
• Square Stealing: You may legally take another player’s square if they have left it.
• Low Ball: The ball may not go above the specified level.
• High Ball: The ball must, at some point during its arc, go above the specified point.
• Granny Ball/Aussie Rules: You must hit the ball from its lower half. (From “down undah”)
• No Biting The Hand That Feeds You: You may not get the person who gave you the ball out.
• _____’s Delight: If a non-_____ gets out, all non-_____s get out.
• Good Samaritan: If the ball runs off a good distance, the person to retrieve it gets immunity for one round.
• Sound rules: A person must make the designated sound whenever they touch the ball.
• Dinosaur Arms: You wrists must be touching your chest at all times.
• Pow-wow/ Tea Party: You must be sitting at all times, legs folded or generally on your butt.
• Jessie’s Law: If a player in line steps in the boundaries of the game, they are moved to the back of the line.
• John Madden: The first player in line must make pointless commentary on the game, as if they were John Madden. Failure to do so results in the offending person moving back one spot in line.
• No Serve Stealing: You may not backstop a serve intended for another player into your own square.
• One Man Army: 1-square through 8-square may only get 9 square out. Getting anyone else out results in you getting out instead.
• Elimination: When a player, including 9-square, gets out, nobody rotates. The square empties and becomes a poison square, and whoever has the highest position serves. The last person standing takes 9-square and the line fills out the rest.

Note: This rule is best when called in a game with no line, or during a final round of the game.

• Sniper: If a person gets the square opposite to them out, then the eliminated player as well as 9-square are out, and the person to get the opposite square out takes 9-square. If the line is long enough, all other players may be out.
• Snake-Eye: This rule must be called last. After calling all other rules, 9-square walks. 9-square becomes a snake-eye square, and 8-square serves. When 8-square gets out, everyone rotates 2 squares, and new rules are called.
• “You get me out you get my square”- Self-explanatory.
• Long Live the King: An extension of “You get me out you get my square”, when the person to take 9-square gets out, they will return to one-square instead of returning to the line.
• No “S” Word: The word “sorry” may not be said. If it "sorry" IS said, the person who said it is out. This rule, however is somewhat unreasonable...
• Corners vs. Sides: Corner squares (1, 3, 5, and 7) are allied. The other corners are considered suicide squares. The same goes for side squares (2, 4, 6, and 8).
• Pacman: Based on the famous and popular arcade game "Pacman", the server, with the ball, on the lines, chases the other players. The first player the ball touches (other than the server), is out. The players can jump on numbers, but only their own numbers. In some versions of 9-square, during pacman, jumping on your own number is considered immunity for that game of pacman. Note: The player with the ball can jump on ANY number. Note 2: The person with the ball cannot turn around, unless the server calls "Super pacman" or "Pacman with turnarounds". Note 3: Anyone who goes off the lines or jumps onto a number other than their own (other than the person with the ball) is out, and that game of pacman ends. Note 4: The server can end pacman WITHOUT the person with the ball getting anyone out, by calling "END PACMAN!" and play resumes as normal. Note 5: The server may have someone else try to tag another player with the ball, by calling "Other player to tag, pacman" and handing the ball to the player he wants to be tagger on his behalf.
• "Service" rule: After all rules are called but before the first serve the server must say "Service." Otherwise, the called rules do not count and first serve is done over again.
• Bus stop: All the players must dash in and touch the server's foot with their own foot. The last player to do so, by judgement of the server, is out. Calling "Bus stop" is disadvantageous to players in the corners who have slightly more distance to run than players on the sides. Note: "Bus stop" is sometimes "Taxi cab" or "Train station" or many other transportation terms.
• Flamingo: All players, execpt the server, must stand on 1 foot, on an intersection. The last player to do so, judged by the server, is out.
• Green apple: The FIRST player to snatch the ball from the server is the new server. The server is not out, he just switches places with the player who grabbed it from him first. Useful if, when you're the server, you think you've been the server for too long and want to give it up so as not to appear "Greedy" to other players.
• Cherry bomb: When the server throws down the ball hard in his own square, and it then hits another square. In some versions of 9-square, this is ILLEGAL, and in other versions, the server must sinply first call "Cherry bomb!".
• Ditch bomb: When the server, back turned, throws the ball over his/her shoulder toward another player so it quickly hits the ground in the other player's square. In some versions of 9-square, this is ILLEGAL, and in other versions the server must first call "Ditch bomb!".
• Aaron Kular Law: If you (the receiver) headers the ball, then from that point onwards the opposition must use their weak hand to hit the ball until a player exits the game
• Black Magic: If someone hits it and it is in your square and it doesn't touch the ground, if you catch it say black magic and the thrower is out. If you hit it without it touching your square, YOU are out.

Origination

It is difficult to accurately say where 9-Square originated, as it is played across some countries, although sparsely.

External links

• : Soundview School's Rules to 9-Square
• : LEARN TO PLAY 9 SQUARE
• : How to Play 9 Square in the Air

References