Extra Rules

This is a list of nearly all known non-standard rules, this page is extremely long

Extra Rules
These rules are still widely recognized, but aren't used everywhere. Be sure to ask the ball owner or others in your group how they play and what rules they use before playing!

Rebounds
A very popular yet very controversial rule. If the ball ricochets off a wall or any other object but bounces back into the court, play resumes as normal.


 * If the ball bounces in your square, rebounds then bounces in your square, Doubles doesn't occur.

Service
Simply put, saying "service!" before the start of the rally means you want the ball to be served to you. However, this can be overridden by an Old Ace or a Service or Die.

Service or Die
A more urgent variant of Service where Ace is forced to serve the ball to the player who calls it. Failure to do so will either result in Ace being out or the person who called it possibly targeting Ace.

n-way
n-way (where n is the number of squares) dictates how many squares aren't safe from being out. For instance, in a four-square game with 2-way, getting out in Kings or Ace sends you back to Dunce instead of the queue. Traditionally, getting out in any square sends you to the queue, also known as 4-way or All-way.

Old Ace
NOTE: This rule is extremely unpopular. How this rule works can wildly differ from player to player. When you get out from being in Ace, you can call out "old ace!" the next time you get in Dunce.


 * If you go from Ace to the queue, Old Ace may not be redeemable. Whereas if you go from Ace to Dunce, you can use your Old Ace if the rule is being played.

Old Ace currently has two observed variants.

Simple Old Ace
When used, Ace must serve the ball to you. This overrides both Service and Service or Die (usually).

Complex Old Ace/Classic Old Ace
When used, you can dictate who Ace serves to, what square they serve it from and how they serve it.


 * Usually, you're only allowed to decided how you want the ball to be served to you.
 * In 2-square, COA is limited to just how the ball is served for obvious reasons.

Chess
This rule replaces Miss by allowing the ball to bounce in other people's squares while not being touched at all, as long as Doubles or Out doesn't occur.

Poison
If you need to go do something urgent, you can say "poison!" before or after a rally. This will allow you to go do whatever you need to do quickly while maintaining your place in the game. When returning, you can say "medicine" and resume gameplay.


 * If someone in game is "poisoned", play can still continue in the form of Poison Practice, where the poisoned player's square becomes a Void. Any instances where a player would be out do not count during Poison Practice.

Void
When someone is poisoned or there are 3 players in a 4-square, a square can become a void (also known as "no man's land). Voids are considered to be outside of the court, and thus, Out will occur if the ball bounces in it.


 * Outlines occurs if the ball bounces on a line associated with a void, even if it's adjacent to a player's square. The outermost lines of the void are counted as Out.
 * In most if not all cases, Dunce will be chosen to be the Void square, making Queens the new Dunce until a fourth player decides to play.

Death Rally
Ace can call out "Death rally!!" if the end of a break is near (or if they just want to for kicks). The meaning of a death rally can be interpreted in different ways, but there are 2 common versions of it.

Dispute
Used to settle arguments over something that happened in a rally, disputes are no-questions-asked rallies that usually only involve 2 people. Whoever wins the dispute stays in while the other is out.

Elimination
When someone gets out, everyone moves up accordingly but no new players from the queue enter. This goes on until one person is left, who will be recognized as the winner of the break and/or the new Ace.

Comparison
Death Rallies are often used to prove which player has better skill.