Four Square Game: Rules, Fair First King and Rotation

Four square is a playground ball game for four players at a time, with anyone else waiting in line. A big square on the ground is split into four smaller squares, and the player in the top square, the king, serves. Players knock a bouncy ball into each other’s squares, and whoever misses goes out to the back of the line while everyone else moves up. All you need is chalk or tape and a ball. Here are the rules, a fair way to pick the first king, and how long you can expect to wait for your turn at the top.

The court and the ball

Draw a large square and divide it into four equal squares with a cross. Many schools use a court roughly 3 to 5 metres (10 to 16 feet) on each side, but any size works; make it smaller for young children. Name the squares in order of rank, for example 1, 2, 3 and 4, or Ace, Jack, Queen and King. The king square is the highest, and the lowest square is where new players come in.

Use a soft, bouncy rubber ball, about the size of a playground or volleyball. A ball that bounces well makes rallies longer and keeps the game fun for everyone.

Rules

1. Four players stand in the four squares. Everyone else waits in a line next to the lowest square.
2. The king serves: they bounce the ball once in their own square, then hit it with their hands into another player’s square.
3. The ball must bounce once in the receiver’s square. The receiver then hits it, with one or two open hands, into any other square.
4. Play continues until someone makes a mistake. That player is out.
5. The out player goes to the back of the line. Everyone in a lower square than the out player moves up one square, and the first person in line steps into the lowest square.
6. The king serves again to start the next rally.

Ways to get out

• The ball bounces twice in your square before you hit it.
• You hit the ball and it lands outside the court, or it does not land in another square.
• You hit the ball before it has bounced in your square (unless your group allows volleys).
• You catch or hold the ball instead of hitting it.
• The ball hits you and then goes out, if your group plays that rule.

Line balls cause the most arguments. Agree before the game whether a ball on the line counts as in or out, and who decides. A simple rule is that the player in the next square up calls it, or that any disputed point is replayed.

A fair way to choose the first king

At the start of a break, everybody wants to be king. Instead of letting the fastest runner claim it, put everyone’s name into the Random Name Picker and spin. Use “remove and spin” to pick the next three players for squares 3, 2 and 1, and then keep spinning to set the order of the line. Each player has the same chance of starting as king, and nobody can complain the line was jumped. For just two players arguing, a quick coin flip or a round of rock paper scissors settles it.

How long until you are king?

Because out players go to the back and everyone else moves up, four square works like a slow conveyor belt. We simulated a long game in which every player is equally good, so each rally the player who goes out is one of the four at random. The table shows how many rallies, on average, it takes to get from the back of the line up to the king square:

The pattern is simple: with equal players it takes about four rallies per player in the game, minus four. With twelve players that is over forty rallies, which is why big groups often split into two courts. In real play the king is usually the strongest player and stays on longer, so the wait for everyone else can be longer still.

Popular variations

• King’s rules: before each serve, the king announces a special rule, such as “only left hands” or “one extra bounce allowed”.
• Around the world: the ball must go to each square in order, clockwise.
• Cherry bombs: a hard downward hit, which many schools ban for younger players.
• Double court: with a big group, run two courts, and the winner of one moves to the other.
• Points game: with no line, each player starts with a set number of lives and loses one each time they are out.

Tips for teachers and parents

• Agree the rules out loud before the first serve; most arguments come from different playground versions.
• Keep the court small for young children, so the ball stays reachable.
• Use a soft ball and ban hard spikes if the group is mixed in age.
• If the line gets long, start a second court instead of making everyone wait.

Four square fits well alongside other playground classics such as red light, green light. If you need to split a class for a different game, see our guide to random teams.

For another game you only need chalk for, see our hopscotch rules, including a dice version.

FAQ

How do you play four square?

Four players stand in four squares and hit a bouncy ball into each other's squares after it bounces once. A player who misses, hits it out or lets it bounce twice goes out to the back of the line, and the others move up.

Who serves in four square?

The player in the king square, the highest-ranked square, serves every rally by bouncing the ball once in their own square and hitting it into another square.

How do you choose who starts as king in four square?

A fair way is to put every player's name into a random name picker and spin. The first name is king and the next names fill the other squares and the line.

Can you play four square with more than four players?

Yes. Extra players wait in a line and enter the lowest square when someone goes out. With a big group, a second court keeps the wait short.