How to Play

Want to see a setup video? Just watch the How to Play video above.

Like reading? We got you.

Unfold the court and remove the net, 6 poles, 4 paddles, and 2 balls.

Place the court on an even surface so it's sitting as level as possible.

Slide 1 pole into each of the six sleeves of the net.

Once all poles are inserted into the net, fully insert 1 pole into each of the holes on the edge of the court.

The net should be fairly taut in all directions.

Give a paddle to each player and have teammates stand across the court from one another.

The youngest player serves first.

The server should hit an easily returnable shot (remember you're serving to your teammate) by striking the ball down into the court.

Once the serve has been hit, the serving team then has 2-3 hits to get the ball back into the court (the serve DOES NOT count as one of the hits)

Use rally scoring whereby points can be scored by the serving or opposing team.

Serving rotates clockwise on every point, regardless of who won the previous point.

Games are played to 11, win by 2.

A point is scored when a team fails to return a hit (the ball touches the ground or doesn't hit into the court and travel over the net) within 3 hits.

HITTING

A hit consists of the ball hitting the court and then traveling up and over the net.

Each team is allowed up to 3 hits per sequence (think bump, set, smash).

A team must make at least 2 hits in a sequence and both teammates must hit the ball.

A player is allowed to make 2 consecutive hits but both players must hit the ball in a single sequence (for example, a player may use her 1st hit to bump the ball to herself, the 2nd to set to her teammate and the teammate must use the 3rd to smash the ball into the court). 

The ball is allowed to come into contact with the net on a hit.

MOVEMENT

Players may move around the court in any direction once the ball is in play but must reset to their original serve order at the start of each point.

If the ball hits the net on a serve and makes it over the net, the ball is in play.

Players are allowed to hit into the net with their bodies and/or paddles so long as that does not impact the trajectory of the ball. If the net touch does impact trajectory, a point is awarded to the opposing team.

WHAT IF AN OPPONENT HINDERS MY SHOT?

If the hindrance is unintentional, just replay the point.

If the hinderance is intentional (don't act all innocent!), the offending team loses the point.

You bet! Here are a few things that we ALWAYS do when playing with someone for their first time:

1) Be patient! The first 5-10 minutes will be awkward and difficult but we have now played this thousands of times and can say with confidence that everyone figures it out if they take the time.

From one of our customers: "The game itself was a little tricky to figure out at first, as we all kept hitting it into the net instead of getting that coveted bounce. After a while, we got the hang of it and got used to juggling the ball to set our teammates up. It’s a surprisingly small target to hit which I found incredibly frustrating at first but then realized it will probably make me a better tennis and pickleball smasher in the end."

2) Don't play for points at first. Start by familiarizing yourself with the rules, the bounces and the passes.

3) Get used to bouncing the ball up to yourself and then hitting it into the court. Go around the circle letting each player take a turn practicing this hit sequence.

4) Don't hit big smashes yet. You'll have plenty of time to impress others with your strength. To start, work on accuracy over power.

5) Call out "BUMP, SET, SMASH" with each team's hits. This helps people remember that they need to hit it into the court by their third hit, aka the SMASH.

6) When you're setting your teammate, don't try to set them where they are but where you want them to be. In other words, hit your sets over the court and let you teammate come in for the smash.

RULES FOR 3 PLAYERS aka KING'S COURT

To start, players should stand equidistant around the court.

The three positions are: 1 position, 2 position and King position.

Going clockwise, assign a position to each player.

The King starts a point by serving an easily returnable serve to the 1 position (note that the King is ALWAYS the server and ALWAYS serves to the 1 position).

Players 1 and 2 now work as teammates to use 2-3 hits to get the ball back into the court and up over the net. If they do this successfully, it is now the King's job to use 2-3 hits to get the ball back into the court and up over the net (note that the King DOES NOT have a teammate so is bumping, setting and smashing the ball his or herself).

A point is scored when a team fails to return a hit (the ball touches the ground or doesn't hit into the court and travel over the net) within 3 hits.

If the King wins the point, he or she scores a point and continues serving.

If the opposing team wins the point, nobody scores a point but all players rotate one position so the player who was previously in the 2 position is now the King, the King is now the 1 and the 1 is now the 2.

Players should keep track of their own score and announce that score before each serve from the King position.

The first player to 11 points wins the game.

RULES FOR 2 PLAYERS

Let us just say right up front that 1 versus 1 is a fun version to play for beginners or younger players as they are getting used to the game but much less fun for more advanced players who learn quickly how to hit unreturnable shots.

To start, stand on opposite sides of the court.

A player starts a point by serving an easily returnable serve to the opposing player.

The receiving player now has 2-3 hits to get the ball back into the court so they are bumping, setting and smashing the ball themselves (note that players ARE NOT allowed to hit just one hit. They must hit AT LEAST 2 hits and no more than 3).

If the player successfully hits the ball back into the court and up over the net, it is now the opposing player's turn to do the same.

A point is scored when a player fails to return a hit (the ball touches the ground or doesn't hit into the court and travel over the net) within 3 hits.

It's rally scoring so players earn points whether or not they were serving.

Serve rotates on every point, regardless of who won the previous point.

The first player to 11 points wins the game.

You get 2-3 touches (think bump, set, smash) to return the ball. If the attacking team let's the ball hit the ground, or doesn't hit the ball back into the court and over the net, the other team scores a point.

The first team to score 11 points wins (win by 2).

Four players (2 v 2) is optimal, but playing with 3 players aka King's Court is a ton of fun too.

1 v 1 is a good version to play for beginners or younger players as they are getting used to the game but much less fun for more advanced players who learn quickly how to hit unreturnable shots.

See the rules for those versions above.

PaddleSmash is best for players ages 14 and above.

Short answer: Yes.

Long answer: Yes, so long as their teammate also touches the ball on that shot sequence. Teams are allowed up to 3 shots but MUST use at least 2 shots and both players MUST touch the ball on a shot sequence.

Example #1: A player might choose to use their first shot to bump the ball to themselves and their second shot to set their teammate. Their teammate MUST use the third shot to smash the ball back into the court.

Example #2: A player might chose to use their first shot to set their teammate and the teammate might choose to use the second shot to smash the ball back into the court.

Example #3: A player cannot use their first shot to set to themselves and their second shot to smash the ball back into the court because their teammate MUST touch the ball on a shot sequence.

The ball must hit the hard court to be considered a point. It can hit the net on the way down and on the way out but for it to be a legal hit, it must come in contact with the hard court as well.

Yes, players are allowed to touch the net with their bodies or paddles during a point so long as that contact does not 1) affect the trajectory of the ball, or 2) cause the court to move from its original position. If either of the those two infractions take place, it is a loss of that point for the offending team.

If the hindrance is unintentional, just replay the point.

If the hinderance is intentional (don't act all innocent!), the offending team loses the point.

Definitely! We've included 4 wooden pickleball paddles PaddleSmash, but composite paddles also work great. If you've got them, PaddleSmash Lite might be a great option for you.

You bet! The pickleballs we provide with PaddleSmash are an indoor/outdoor hybrid that we think are ideal for the plastic court surface. That being said, regular outdoor or indoor balls work great too.

If you've already got plenty of your own pickleball paddles and pickleballs, PaddleSmash Lite might be a great option for you.

Short answer: The net system requires players to hit downward making the ball bounce upward, leading to better rallies and more contained play.

Long answer: We tested the game many times without a net but found that points were over so quickly because the receiving team could hit a ball into oblivion with no chance of returning it. The net system helps keep the play more contained making the game easier to play than Spikeball (aka roundnet) with longer rallies. We're all about creating a good time.

The hard base court helps dampen the shots leading to more contained play and longer rallies.

You bet! You can download a PDF of our instructions here