The rules of Seven Ball

For some, Seven Ball is a game variant of the popular game “Billiards.” But, for real men, Seven Ball is a two man, cutthroat battle of speed and wits. The rules for Seven Ball are thus:

Required Equipment:

A flight of stairs; a bank of various ball-like, judge-approved objects; two human players

Rules:

Naming — Two men are required to play Seven Ball. If one man and one woman play, the game will be called Five Ball. If two women choose to play a match, the game shall be called Three Ball.

Set up — One player stands at the top of the stairs (offense) while another player (defense) stands at the bottom.

Equipment — Each player will bring his own set of 10 ball-like objects with which to play the game. The objects must be approved as sufficiently ball-like before the match by a certified Seven Ball judge. A significant part of the game is the creativity behind a player’s ball set. Balls can range from conventional ones like tennis balls, lacrosse balls, and basketballs or unconventional objects like deflated footballs, gyroscopes, and spherical bundles of laundry.

Gameplay — The offense will choose three balls from his ball set and throw them down the stairs towards the opponent in an attempt to get any and all balls past him. The three balls may be thrown in any way possible. All may be thrown at once. Two may be thrown first, then the last. And so on. The defense is tasked with preventing the balls from reaching the goal line directly behind him. After three blocked balls, the sides switch. The game lasts seven innings.

Scoring — If a ball reaches the goal line, the score for that ball is equal to the amount of steps the ball hit on its way down plus one. For example, a ball is thrown, hits three steps, and reaches the goal while the two other balls are blocked by the defense – the score is 4. At the end of the game, the player with the most points wins.