Eau Claire, WI rules as a kid:

Just needed a bat, a few balls, an open field (medium or large backyard would suffice) and anything that would work for bases such as paper plates, hats, tee-shirt.

Sometimes used a typical whiffle ball (you can make it do some weird curves and stuff as is) or duct tape/electrical tape the thing to make a solid ball, sometimes both can be used in the game. Sometimes, tennis balls can be used. Rules of engagement are set prior to the start.

In my day it was usually 4 vs 4, 3 vs 3, or if an odd number of players we used a dedicated pitcher. For example if we only had 5 kids it would be 2 vs 2 with the 5 kid rotating between teams as a dedicated pitcher and, theoretically, had no allegiance to either team.

- Pitcher's hand rules: since neither team could cover all the bases, if the batted ball was returned to the pitcher before the hitter got to 1st base = out. Tie goes to the runner.
- While the ball is in play and you beaned the base runner who was in between bases with the ball = out but the ball was still in play for other runners to advance. (especially fun if you duct taped the ball... it can leave a mark. Head shots count but it's easier to aim for center mass)
- Only one extra base on an "over throw" (while the ball is in play and was over thrown leading to it being out of the field of play, each runner can advance only one base).
- No strikes counted unless its a swing and a miss.
- 3 Foul balls = out. A "tick" is a foul ball. A "tick" is defined as a swing of the bat and it "ticked" the ball.
- Batted ball (in foul territory) over into adjoining cranky old neighbors backyard = out and batter had to hop over the fence to get the ball.
- Foul ball into the woods = out and batter had to fetch the ball, hopefully not come home with wood ticks.
- Batted ball over the fence deep center field in a neighbor's yard but in the field of play = home run.
- Batted ball landing on a roof is still in play and a live ball unless it gets stuck in the gutters while rolling down. Then a ground rule double.

Oh one of those “rich” kids….we made tape balls and used a broom stick….

I don’t remember any of the rules but while we always used a wiffle ball, don’t think any of my friends actually owned one. Pretty sure they were all “borrowed” from the various summer fun programs we were in earlier.

A wiffle ball and bat and a Nerf football were staples my childhood outdoor activities during the summer when school was out.

Kick the Can (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kick_the_can) was also a played many nights during summer break. Usually a couple days a week after supper for a couple hours until sundown. Maybe the game was allowed to continue after dark but was shut down when the parents called the kids to get back ome.

Life was way simpler (is that a word?) when I was a kid.

We also played "Army" with fake guns and stuff. Each person could have 3 guns. One to use, and 2 to hide. If you got "shot" you were dead and had to count to 30 out loud before you could get back in the game. If you were shot, the kid that shot you can take your gun give it to his team member that lost his/her gun or hide it for his team's stash.

If you got shot , after counting to 30 out loud, you had to go find another gun or run around unarmed and tackle an opponent and take his/her gun (without being shot). Any hidden guns that were found along the way are property of the finder. Stuffed them in bushes, in trash cans, under a car... anywhere out of sight.

Part of the strategy was not to kill everyone (they are only dead for a count of 30) but to find the enemy's hidden guns and take them to hide them in your new hiding place. Meanwhile set up a sniper position to shoot the enemy coming back to get a gun that he/she hid.

Two ways to win:
1) You capture the flag of the other team
2) You collect all the guns from the other team leaving them defenseless.

Kind of like a laser tag or paint ball thing without the lasers or paint balls

Quite nostalgic tonight.... 🌫

Hmm ... we played wiffle ball and army by pretty much the same rules in my neck of the woods - back in the day. Ahhhhhh ..... the good-old-days.

I always thought the wiffle ball bat was exclusively meant for sibling beating

We used to shoot bottle rockets and throw black cats at each other.

No wiffleball or fake guns sh*t here, cowboys and Indians wasn't very popular in my neighborhood... cowboys weren't very popular in my neighborhood (at least in early neighborhoods where you would play those things).

Cool toys were starting to get cooler... we had transformers and GI Joes and sh*t.

Played a lot of basketball and football growing up... smear the queer was popular.

A lot of my buddies liked to wrestle so did that and fought a lot.

In jr. high and high school played a lot of pool and spent a lot of time scheming on how to get chicks.

Played video games.

Played chess.

We played a very similar game with limited players. We called it "mini-ball" and if the batter was right handed he had to hit to that side, vice versa for left handed... basically we played only half the field.

Lots of football... nerf or leather. One kid had a half court in his back yard so we played basketball, too. And there were half a dozen ponds in biking distance so we did a lot of fishing.

Huh, balls? We had dirt-clod fights in a lot with an abandoned house. When we got BB guns we played army/murder with BB guns.[-(

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Grew up in California on a cul-de-sac. The round end had a massive storm drain that served as a backstop. All of the kids on the block played baseball. Not wiffle ball or tennis ball...baseball. ALL of us. Harriet Lane in Stanton, CA served as a playing field of sorts. The neighbors all understood that if we were playing baseball we weren't play a modified Cops & Robber called Apes Vs Humans where one side actually wore ape masks and tore up flower beds, trees and shrubbery (NIIIT!) playing it. They much rather would see us play ball. They incentivized it for us by spray painting bases on the street. Pitcher's mound was a sewer cap. If, and we did on many an occasion...break a window...we ALL chipped in and either helped repair or stood by when it was being repaired. The neighbors would sit on porches or lawn chairs and watch us take on other streets that had a team or other guys from school that wanted to play. If you lived on the street...you played on our team. No filling in. Sun up to sun down. Everyone always knew where we were.

By the time we grew into Park and Rec league ball...we all knew each other and what position we were gonna play before the coaches!

[ram27bat]

Yup! No fair shooting anybody above the waist. Mom always wondered how I got those small holes in my Levies.

yep, we did the BB-gun fights...all the guys in my neighborhood would be running around

in our winter jackets all summer long, because it didn't hurt quite so much when you got

hit in the jacket

....and bottle rocket wars! Around new year’s and the 4th

We also had a crazy game we would play in the woods... we called it "hawk swinging".

Climb a tree with a sapling near it. Jump out of the tree, grab onto the sapling and hope it bends nicely and you land softly.

When they snapped... you'd hear a yell and a thud.

Our one rule was no shooting above the shoulders.

You guys are nuts with the bb guns.

At school,

The funnest one was thunder dome (they don't let kids play that anymore). We used to play if your feet touched the ground you lost.

Dodgeball was always a favorite too.

Yeah, it can be and was used for such a purpose. It's a multipurpose tool.

NINE! teen.

Yup, and you learned how to load and fire as many as you could before they could turn around and return fire.



In HS, on rainy days, we played Aztec Ball on a field that didn't drain well. it was a sort of free for all soccer game where points were lost for not getting muddy and the coach might call a face-off with the two guys from the same team, especially if they were hanging back from the melee.

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