The Rules of Treeball

  I've come to the realization that there is no tangible way to market the new sport I've created.  If the Nerf people come up with a way to design a Nerf Tree, then more power to them.  I am willingly giving this game away for free to the public.  I hope this doesn't come back to bite me on the ass!

TREEBALL

You will need: 

1 tree with plenty of leaves and branches to obstruct a ball's reaction to gravity.

1 extra large ball, like you would find in those big cages at the toy store.  The ball should be heavy enough to not get stuck in the tree too easily, but also light enough to have its path manipulated by the tree limbs.

As many other heavier balls as you can gain access to, such as footballs, basketballs or baseballs.

3 or more players

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Set-up: 

Leave all the heavier balls off to the side- you will not need them right away.  Clear the area under the game tree of small children, old people, lovers and poets.  Decide how many points it will take to win or agree to a time limit (such as when the sun goes down and someone could really get hurt in the dark)  Shaking hands with your opponents is optional, but be warned that this game could get violent.  Select one person to start with the big ball- not a big deal, usually the first person to grab it.

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Game Play:

The player with the ball stands a few feet away from the tree and punts (kicks) it up and into the depths of the tree as high as possible.  At this point, the other players jockey for position and try to determine where the ball is going to come down.  If the kick was done well, the ball should bounce around Price is Right Plinko style from branch to branch, making the judgment of where the ball is going to go part of the fun.  Whoever ends up with the ball scores and becomes the next kicker.

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Scoring: 

-After the kick, the kicker stands back and watches the melee- he or she cannot score on his or her own kick.

- A player scores 1 point for gaining possession of the ball.

- If the player catches the ball on the fly (before it hits the ground) he or she will score 2 points (instead of 1).

- If the kick does not make contact with any part of the tree, the kicker loses 1 point.  Scoring remains normal for the other players.

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Stuck Ball:

It is inevitable that while playing Treeball, the ball will get stuck at some point.  Rather than ending the game, this only makes things more interesting and rewards determined players.  When the ball gets stuck, all the players, kicker included, race to the collection of heavier balls and throw them up toward the game ball.  Whichever player is the one to knock the game ball free scores 5 points.  Particularly brave players can try climbing the tree to rescue the ball.  (One famous case was our friend Sean spending at least an hour in the tree battling bird nests to free a really stuck ball.  While the rest of us went inside to eat cake, he stayed out there and got the ball.  He didn't score much during regular play, but won the game almost solely on rescues.  Rescuing stuck balls can be huge.)

Note: If you are using a good tree, it is entirely possible that the heavier balls can also get stuck.  There is no scoring for rescuing the rescue balls, but you will feel good about saving them.  Especially if it's a softball signed by your entire rec team roster. 

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Disputes: 

I have been fortunate to play this game with honest people with good sportsmanship who rarely argue, but if a dispute ever does arise- such as a player catching the ball and having it knocked out of his hands- majority rules will determine the ruling.  If there is a tie, it will be broken by the kicker.  The way we play, anything goes under that tree- there are no fouls- but generally, we play nice and there has never been any anger over the game.  Also, players are responsible for their own score for the most part.  Usually what we will do is announce what our score is before we make our next kick.  This gives everyone an idea of who is winning.  If you can't rely on the honor system and need to write everything down, that will ruin the flow of the game, but do what you have to do to keep things fair.

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Optional rules: 

These rules are by no means set in stone- you can use them or not use them for all I care.  If you play this game and come up with a good idea, I would love to hear it. 

The only thing I haven't mentioned is tiki torches.  If there are some nearby and you set yourself on fire in pursuit of the ball, then you score 10 points.  When I made that rule, I was joking....I think.  No one has ever scored that way, but my brother came close.  I don't recommend implementing it.

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This is not the only game I've invented.  Check back here for how to play Football/Basketball.  Never could come up with a name for that hybrid sport, but it is still fun.