Recreational Foam Rules

• Balls: Games use an odd number of balls depending on team size; we often play with seven. The side nearest the main entrance starts with one more ball. Rock, paper, scissors may determine starting sides.
• The start: Players begin touching the back wall.
• The end: Play continues until one team is eliminated, referees pause play, or the round timer sounds.
• Single outs: Each live ball can eliminate only one person.
• Saves: If a ball hits you and a teammate catches it before it becomes dead, you and the thrower are safe.
• Soft lines: Players may step on boundary lines, but a player is out if their entire foot crosses a sideline or the neutral zone.
• Ball count: The team with a majority of balls has ten seconds to relinquish that majority.
• The queue: The first player eliminated is the first player to return after a catch.
• Headshots: A direct hit to the head of a standing player is illegal and the thrower is out.
• Attack line: This is the closest an offensive player may move toward the opponent’s back wall—normally about 23 feet away.
• Neutral zone: The middle area that players from either team may occupy.
• Honor system: Players call themselves out. When in doubt, call yourself out.
• Community: Get to know your teammates and opponents, and have fun.

• Neutral zone: A player is out if they step completely through the neutral zone onto the opponent’s side. Neutral-zone size may vary, but attack-line distance remains consistent.
• Attack line: The attack line is 23 feet from the back wall.
• Sidelines: A player is out if their entire foot—or any other appendage—crosses a sideline.
• Width: Courts are generally 35 feet wide in a two-court setup or 25 feet wide in a three-court setup.
• Out line: Teams line up on the right side of their court when two sidelines are present. When a wall is a boundary, both teams line up on the open side.

• Place all balls on the centerline. With seven balls, place four on one side and three on the other. Keep the four-ball side consistent because teams switch sides after each game.
• Captains play rock, paper, scissors to choose starting sides.
• The referee normally starts play with “Ready, ready, go!”
• On the rush, players may touch only the balls on the right side of the court.
• A person holding a ball must touch it to the back wall before it can be thrown. Throwing a ball at the wall does not check it.
• After all of your team’s balls are checked, you may retrieve centerline balls the other team left behind.

The ten-second count keeps play moving. When a team possesses a majority of the balls, it must throw enough balls to drop below that majority within ten seconds. The count then resets. Balls collected during a count do not increase the number of required throws for that count.

If the required balls are not thrown in time, the referee stops play and awards all but two balls to the other side. On the restart, both teams return to the wall and the team that failed to give up the majority keeps two balls.

One referee should be dedicated to the count, identify the burdened side and required throws, and count loudly from five. If “zero” begins before the required throws, play stops immediately.

• A player is out when contacted by a live ball thrown by the opposing team and that ball becomes dead.
• Uniforms and accessories count as part of a player’s body.
• An eliminated player may pass controlled balls to teammates, raise an arm to signal the out, and leave immediately without disrupting play.
• If in doubt, you are out.
• A player is out the moment they are hit. Their only valid action is attempting to catch that ball before it dies; a teammate may also save them. Other throws or catches by that player are invalid.

• A catch eliminates the thrower and returns the first eligible teammate from the queue.
• The catcher must control the ball and land with both feet in bounds.
• Returning players enter from the back, have five seconds to rejoin, and become active after touching the back wall. They may not make dodgeball moves before touching it.
• Catching a ball deflected from a teammate is a save: the teammate and thrower remain safe.
• A teammate may catch a ball deflected from a blocking ball.
• For a catch while going out of bounds, the player must control the ball with both feet in bounds. The catch counts, but the player who then goes out is eliminated.
• If a catch occurs and the throwing team cannot identify the thrower, referees pause play and select one throwing-side player to leave.
• If a player is hit and makes a catch in the same volley, the player is out but the catch counts.

• A block uses a held ball to prevent a hit.
• If an incoming ball hits the blocking ball and then the blocker’s body, the blocker is out.
• If contact from an incoming throw causes the blocker to drop the blocking ball, the blocker is out.
• Fingers and the hand holding a blocking ball are considered part of the ball; the wrist and forearm are not.

When play reaches one-on-one, referees begin a ten-second countdown and then pause for a joust. The entire court becomes a neutral zone, but sidelines remain active. Each player starts with one ball and three more are placed on the middle line. Play begins on “Ready, joust!” and continues until one player is eliminated. Physical contact is prohibited; if contact occurs, referees determine who initiated it and award the win to the other player.

An eagle occurs when a player jumps from the neutral zone into the opponent’s side to throw. A successful throw keeps the eagler alive, but they must return immediately and remain vulnerable until they do. They may dodge, but may not leave the court or touch balls before returning. Crossing the attack line during the jump immediately eliminates the eagler.

A headshot is a direct throw that hits the head of a player standing upright or in an athletic stance. A player who significantly lowers their head by kneeling, ducking, or crouching is not protected by the headshot rule. Close calls favor the player who was hit.

A headshot nullifies the entire volley: the defender is safe and the headshot thrower is out. Players who repeatedly throw near head level receive a warning; another head-level throw after the warning results in an out.

• Return out-of-court balls to active players as quickly as possible.
• Return a ball to the team on the side where it left the court.
• Do not reach onto the playing court or retrieve balls from the opponent’s side.
• Spectators should help return nearby balls to players promptly.

• A catcher must fully control the ball without using the floor or an out-of-bounds area as leverage.
• A player who initiates physical contact with an opponent is out.
• A ball thrown before the first utterance of “joust” is legal.
• A legal throw requires picking up and throwing the ball. Kicking, smacking, or spiking does not create a valid hit, although the opponent may legally catch that ball.
• Players line up in the order they were eliminated.
• Substitutions and timeouts are not allowed during a game except for injury. Substitutions may occur between games.
• Players enforce the rules through the honor system. Referees make final decisions on controversial plays and may pause to discuss them. Protesting is not allowed; respectful clarification after the game is encouraged.
• Uniforms and accessories count as part of a player’s body.
• An eagler hit in midair is immediately out; their throw is valid only if released before the hit.
• If time expires, the team with fewer eliminated players wins. Equal remaining player counts produce a draw.

• Dead ball: A ball that has not been checked on the rush; has touched an eliminated player, another dead ball, the floor, ceiling, or walls; or has been kicked or spiked. A player who throws an unchecked dead ball is out.
• Dying ball: A ball that has hit a player but has not yet become dead.
• Live ball: A ball activated by checking it past the neutral zone.
• Match: A collection of games between two teams.
• In: Eligible to participate on the court.
• Out: Ineligible after being hit, caught, or crossing a court boundary.
• Opening rush: Players approach the centerline to retrieve balls at the referee’s signal.
• Control: A ball secured in a player’s hands.
• Save: A thrown ball deflects off a live player and a teammate catches it before it dies. The hit player and thrower remain safe.
• Burden to throw: A team with five or more balls must attack and relinquish its original majority within ten seconds. It throws N − 4 balls, where N is its ball count when the count begins.
• Volley: Multiple balls arriving at a defender at the same time. Balls arriving unambiguously early or late are separate.