Spud

# of Players: 3 or more
Equipment Needed: A rubber playground ball (or other comparably sized ball that can be thrown at others)
Time per Game: 5-10 minutes
Age Group: 5+

I used to love playing this variation on dodge ball outside Tim Rooney's house. Loads of fun. I couldn't get enough of it, and now I can also attest to the fact that it's fun for both adults and kids.

Everybody playing starts with no letters, and the object is to be the only person not to get all the letters in the word Spud (S-P-U-D).

Somebody is chosen to throw the ball up first. Everybody else huddles together out of hearing distance, and everybody in the huddle is given a different number -- each person can pick his own number, or one person can designate numbers for everybody. The numbers for everybody range from 1 to N, where N is 1 greater than the number of people in the huddle. For example, if there are 5 people in the huddle, each person would receive a different number between 1 and 6. Since there are 5 people and 6 numbers, 1 number is left unassigned.

Once the numbers are assigned, all of the people stand close to the one with the ball. That person throws the ball high into the air (as straight into the air as possible) and yells a single number from 1 to N. The person who was designated that number in the huddle must catch the ball (on a bounce is OK) and then yell "Stop". Everybody else runs away from the ball (typically in different directions) as fast as possible but must halt once "Stop" is yelled.

Then, the person who has caught the ball can take steps (as giant as possible) towards one (or more if people are close together) of the other players (typically towards the closest one, but sometimes towards the one still with the fewest letters in "Spud" or the least coordinated :). The number of steps he can take equals the number of letters he has not yet obtained in the word "Spud". For example, at the start of the game, a person could take 4 giant steps for having none of the letters in S-P-U-D. After getting 3 letters in the word "Spud", a person could only take 1 giant step for D if his number is called.

After taking his steps, the person then throws the ball at one of the other players (typically, throwing at the head is disallowed). If the thrower hits anybody (a "target") with the ball on the fly (i.e., before it hits the ground) and that target cannot catch the ball before it hits the ground, then the target gets his next letter in the word "Spud". If the thrower hits the ground with the ball before it hits a target OR if the thrower hits a target with the ball on the fly and then that target catches the ball before it hits the ground, then the thrower gets his next letter in the word "Spud". Whoever gets the letter on this turn is the one who throws the ball up on the next turn.

One little catch is that if the person who initially threw the ball into the air yells the one extra number that was not assigned to anybody, then that person who yelled the number automatically receives his next letter in the word "Spud", and another turn commences.

A player is eliminated from the game once he has all the letters in the word "Spud". The person who most recently threw the ball into the air before the eliminated player gets to throw it on the next turn. The game continues until only 1 player remains.