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 taught in all directions.

SCORING

Games are played to 11, win by 2.

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

A point is scored when a team fails to return a hit (the ball touches the ground or doesn't make it 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.

To start a point, the serving teammates should stand directly opposite each other. 

The opposing teammates should also stand opposite each other but are free to stand near the serving players, so long as they don't interfere with the serving team.  

The receiving player is the only player allowed to field the serve.

Serve by simply putting the ball in play. 

Once the serve is hit, the serving team now has up to 3 hits to get the ball back into the court (the serve does not count as 1 of the 3 hits)

Play proceeds with each team using up to 3 hits to return the ball. 

Regardless of who wins the point, serving rotates clockwise on each point

If the server fails to hit the ball into the court and over the net with their serve, a point is awarded to the opposing team

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.

1) Players must use a "Gentlemen Serve" when serving to their opponent, meaning it must be easily returnable.

2) Each player is allowed up to 3 consecutive hits to return the ball into the court.

3) Players are allowed to use just 1, 2 or all 3 of their hits.

You get up to 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.

Four players (2 v 2) is optimal, but two players (1 v 1) is tons of fun too!

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.

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.

Definitely! We've included 4 wooden pickleball paddles but composite paddles also work great. If you've got them, feel free to use them instead.

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

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).

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