Astride Ball

Astride Ball is a ball game suitable for 6 or more players, using nothing but a soccer/basketball or similar.

Age: Adults and older children

No. of players: Large groups (6+)

Equipment: A soccer ball or basket ball (or similar)

Time: 5+ minutes

Aim: To stop the ball rolling under your legs.

Astride Ball is so simple yet so much fun. I remember enjoying this game immensely when I was a teenager!

1. One player stands in the middle while the other players form a circle around them with their feet apart to form "goals" and their hands on their knees.

2. The central player tries to score a goal by throwing the ball between any player's legs. (To avoid dangerous hard throws, players must keep their arm straight and below their shoulder when they throw the ball.)

3. The player on the outside can take their hands off their knees to catch or otherwise stop the ball from scoring a goal.

4. If the central player does score a goal, they score one point and the two players swap places. The outside player scores one point if they catch the ball, but the players do not swap places.

5. Any player who takes their hands off their knees before the ball is thrown loses one point, as does a player who takes their hands off their knees when the ball is thrown to another player. Scores cannot be negative, so the lowest score for any player is zero, no matter how many points they lose.

6. The player with the highest number of points at a certain time limit (say 10 minutes) wins the game.