Have any of you played German dodge? It’s a form of dodge ball but with more rules, and it’s more fun. I haven’t played it since elementary school, but I’ll try to explain how it works.
The game is played on a volleyball court (without a net)
Between 2 and 5 normal dodge balls are used depending on the number of balls available and the number of players
Each team has to stay on their side of the court. If a player leaves the boundary of their side, they are out
The game starts with all the dodge balls on the centerline and all the players on the baseline of their side of the court
When play starts, the players run to the center to try and grab a ball
For the most part the rules are similar to regular dodge ball in terms of getting out. If a ball that has not hit the ground between the thrower and you hits you, and you or no one else on your team is able to catch the ball before it hits the ground, you are out. If you throw a ball and an opponent catches the ball before it hits the ground, you are out.
When you get out, instead of sitting out the rest of the game as in normal dodge ball, you go to jail. The jail is the area in back of your opponent’s side of the court
To get out of jail, a player from your team must throw you a ball, and you must catch it without it hitting the ground and without you leaving the confines of jail. You must then either throw the ball back to a player on your team who catches it without it hitting the ground, or you can bean a player on the other team. If any ball is thrown and fails to reach it’s target without hitting the ground, the team who’s side the ball ends up on may claim the ball.
The winning team is the one that has all their opponents in jail.
There are several more rules regarding being able to use a ball to deflect other balls.
You may defect an opponent’s ball with a ball of your own as long as you maintain possession of the ball. If a deflected opponent’s ball hits a team member and they are unable to catch the ball, the hit player is out. If a member of your team catches a defected opponent’s ball, the thrower is out. If you drop the ball used to deflect the opponent’s ball, you are out. You may also throw a ball in order to deflect an opponent’s ball, but you (or someone on your team must catch the ball or you will be out). The rest of the rules regarding throwing a ball with the intent to deflect are similar to those of holding a ball and deflecting an opponent’s ball.
I hope all that makes sense. Feel free to ask questions about it. I had no idea that there were people who didn’t know about German Dodge until I left Hawaii. Every one in Hawaii knows and loves German Dodge.
