PP6450

Official Ruleset

• Objective
• Field of Play & Equipment
• Requirements
• Terminology
• Possession
• Service
• Reception
• End of Play
• Scoring

Objective

The objective of the rules are to be as ruleless as possible, which means our rules are very broad. If you don't see it in this ruleset, consider it legal. Try not to hurt each other. Anyways, the real objective of the game is to have as much fun as possible. Generally, this means we have developed the rules to help extend rallies and allow for seemingly improbable shots to occur with regularity.

Game Objective

Accumulate at least 21 points and have at least 2 more points than the opponent.

Field of Play & Equipment

• An enclosed room is recommended
• Standard issue ping pong table with posts and a net, with the table arranged within the room in anyway. Aligning and centering the table in the middle of the room is frowned upon. 🙁
  • The room is divided into two sides. The boundary between the two sides is broken into three straight lines: The boundary runs perpendicular from each wall to each wall's nearest post, and continues along the net.
• Each player must have a single standard issue ping pong paddle
• One standard issue ping pong ball

Requirements

• Players per team: 2+

Terminology

• Trick: The beginning of play that begins with a serve and ends when play has stopped.
• Round: A contiguous set of tricks that comprises one player's serves
• Fleshy body: A person in the room
• SotT: Side of the table.
• Strike/Struck: Contacted by a paddle.
• Receiving Team: The team not in possession of the ball.
• Slappy: Paddles with padding on a single side.
• Flappy: Paddles with padding that is partially pealing off.
• Woody: Paddles with no padding whatsoever.

Examples

Although the rules allow the number of players per team to be scalable, all examples will assume there are four players, two per team. The teams will be known as A and B, and the players for teams will be known as A1/A2 and B1/B2 respectively.

Possession

Possession begins when a team legally strikes the ball with a paddle after it has landed on their SotT. Up to that point the ball is considered to be in possession of the opponent.

Direct Return

A direct return occurs when a receiver strikes the ball (and thereby gains temporary possession), and that strike results in the ball directly contacting the opponent's SotT, without contacting anything else.

Indirect Return

All other returns are indirect. An indirect return occurs when a player in possession of the ball strikes the ball, and contacts anything else (excluding their teammates) before bouncing off of the opponent's SotT.

Service

Each trick begins with a serve. Every 5 points, a new round begins and service alternates possession. All players must serve in a predetermined order, and that order does not change throughout a game.

Serve

A legal serve occurs when the ball strikes the server's paddle, off the server's SotT, then lands on the opponent's SotT, without coming into contact with the server's teammates or their paddles.

Reception

The opponent due up to serve the next round is considered the service receiver and must be the first opponent to strike the ball with their paddle following a legal serve. Each subsequent change of possession cannot be received (i.e. struck with paddle) by the teammate who returned the ball.

Example

• A1 serves to B1. A1 served, so they cannot receive the return.
• B1 returns the ball. B1 last struck the ball, so they cannot be the receiver for the subsequent change of possession.

End of Play

Play ends in the following scenarios:

Team in Possession Loses Points

1. The ball ceases to bounce.
2. The ball is scooped by a paddle or fleshy body.
3. The ball is touched (paddle or fleshy body) twice by any single player before touching another player.
4. The ball is passed (paddle or fleshy body) by a player directly to a teammate's paddle without contacting anything else.
5. The ball is struck by the receiving team beyond the plane of their SotT (but on their side) before it has bounced off of their SotT.

Team in Possession Earns Points

1. The ball bounces consecutively (without contacting anything else) off the opponent's SotT before possession has been transferred to that team.
2. The ball that is destined to bounce on the table is prevented to do so by the receiving team by contacting it above the plan of their SotT.
3. The ball is contacted by a player who is not on their own side and who is not in possession of the ball.

Scoring

The team gaining points (see above) receives the amount of points equalling the number of bounces on their own SotT after their last paddle strike, with a minimum of 1 point.