Rules

Handball has a set of core rules that everyone follows when playing. No matter where you go, people will use these rules. However, over time people have invented their own rules to change certain aspects of the game (for better or for worse).

Core rules
These rules are extremely unlikely to change as they are the bread and butter of Handball.


 * To play, you require at least 2 players (unless you're practicing against a wall).
 * If you are playing with more than 2 players at once, it's best to play with a multiple of 2 players. If not, players either go to the queue or one square act as a Void.
 * One square is designated to be Ace(in some locations known as King).
 * The person who is in Ace initiates rallies with a serve.
 * Ace must serve by bouncing the ball in their square before bouncing in another player's square.
 * The rally continues as stated above with the recipient of the ball bouncing the ball in their own square, making it travel into another player's square.
 * All players who wish to play wait in the queue, usually identified as a line starting from the corner of Dunce furthest away from the center of the court.

Standard rules
The following are still recognized by many as valid rules, however some may decide to omit them from play for various reasons.

Square rankings
The top 4 squares are ranked as Ace, Kings, Queens, Dunce.


 * Dunce is sometimes referred to as Jacks, following the playing card theme.
 * Kings is also known as Semi-Ace.
 * In some locations Ace is known as King and Dunce is known as Baby

End of rally
The rally ends when one or more of the following occurs:


 * Doubles/Double bounce/2nd bounce - The ball bounces twice in your square. This results in the player who has the ball in their square being out.
 * Full/Straight - A player hits the ball into another person's square without the ball bouncing in their own square first. This results in the person who hit the ball being out.
 * Full Play - A player does a full, followed by another player continuing play (playing on), resulting in this other playing being out.
 * If the full has already been recognized, the full play does not count.
 * Out - The ball fails to bounce in anyone's square.
 * If the ball bounced in someone's square before going out, that player is out.
 * If someone touched the ball before the ball goes out, that player is out.
 * Miss - The ball bounces in a player's square and then another player's square without the ball being hit/touched by the first player, resulting in the first playing being out. This rule can be nullified by the rule Chess.
 * Grabs - The ball is grabbed, usually in an attempt to change the direction and speed of the ball in an unfair manner. The player who grabbed the ball is out.
 * Rolls - The ball is hit in such a way that it is no longer bouncing but still moving along the ground, or rolling. Depending on who you're playing with, this either results in a replay or the last player touching the ball being out.
 * In-toes/Interference - The ball hits an object that's not in the game or the ball gets interfered by a non-player.
 * Lines/Outlines - The ball bounces on the lines in or on the edge of the court. This is followed up by playing on or a replay, usually done by bouncing the ball on the line it originally hit.

Extra Rules
Extra Rules now has it own page