How To Set Up and Play 4 Square Pickleball
If you went to a public elementary school there is a good chance you grew up playing the classic playground game 4 Square. I know I absolutely loved the game as a kid. That is why I decided to try making a four-square version of Pickleball, which is my favorite sport/game now that I am a grown adult. In this post, I will go over everything you need, how to set up the court, and of course, the unofficial rules to get you started.
What You Need To Build A 4 Square Pickleball Court
- Full-Size Pickleball Net
- (2) Half Size Pickleball Nets
- Chalk(You could use masking tape if playing indoors)
- (4) Paddles
- Pickleballs
*Budget Tip: If you purchase the half-size pickleball nets linked above from Franklin, each half-court net comes with two paddles and 2 balls so you won’t need to purchase any separate paddles or balls.
How To Set Up A 4 Square Pickleball Court
- The first step to setting up a 4 square pickleball court is choosing a location to play. We set our court up at the local elementary school. Just find a big open flat surface that you can draw on with chalk.
- Begin by first setting up the full-size pickleball net.
- Once the full-size net is assembled and placed where you want it, set up a half-size net on each side of the full-size net down the center. Once done it should look like a + sign.
- Now you can draw the lines by simply drawing straight lines out from each side of each net post. When all the chalk lines are drawn you should essentially have a bib box around the + sign.
- Now you are ready to play.
How To Play 4 Square Pickleball
The rules of 4 square pickleball are not official so you can tweak these however you would like. We played very similarly to how you would play normal 4 square except instead of using your hands and a big playground ball you use paddles and a pickleball.
- One square becomes the “King” square and this is the square you want to get to and stay in to be the “winner”.
- The person in king square serves the ball to any of the of the other squares. Once the ball is in play the players must let it bounce once and only once before hitting it into another players square over the net.
- If the ball bounces more than once before you are able to successfully hit it into another player’s square you are out and must get in line or move to the lowest square.
- When a player gets out the other players rotate clockwise to fill in the open spaces. (See graphic below)
- Have fun
I hope you have fun playing 4 square pickleball.
