Butts Up facts for kids

Butts Up or "Wall Ball" is an exciting playground game that many kids in North America have played since the 1950s. It's a bit like other games such as Screen Ball. You play Butts Up with a ball, like a tennis ball, handball, or racquetball. You need a paved area and a wall. Lots of players can join in, usually more than three, and often more than ten! Kids often play Butts Up during recess or before and after school.

Before starting, players usually decide on the specific rules they want to use. Some rules might remind you a little of baseball or racquetball.

What's the Goal of Butts Up?

The main goal of Butts Up is to be the very last player left in the game. This happens when all other players have been "out."

Sometimes, the game doesn't have a specific end goal. Instead, you play until time runs out, like when recess ends. In these versions, if a player gets "out" three times, they have to lean against the wall. This is where the name "Butts Up" comes from! They then wait for other players to try and hit them with the ball.

How Do You Play Butts Up?

The first player, often the one who owns the ball, starts the game. This is called "breaking the ice." They throw the ball against the wall. The goal is for the ball to hit the wall first, before it touches the ground. If someone catches the ball in the air before it hits the ground and yells "Poison," they can throw the ball at the wall. If it hits the wall before the original thrower touches the wall, the thrower is out.

After the ball hits the wall and bounces off the ground, any player, including the thrower, can try to catch it. If a player tries to catch the ball but drops it, they must quickly run to the wall and touch it. Meanwhile, other players will try to pick up the ball and throw it against the wall. If the ball hits the wall before the player touches it, that player is "out."

Sometimes, instead of hitting the wall, other players try to hit the player who dropped the ball. If they hit the player before they touch the wall, that player is out. Some rules let you choose: either hit the wall or hit the player to get them out.

Getting an "Out"

If a player throws the ball and someone catches it *before* it hits the ground, the thrower gets one "out." This is similar to how outs work in baseball. After three outs, a player usually leaves the game.

If a player throws the ball and it bounces on the ground *before* hitting the wall, that player must run to the wall and touch it. An opponent will try to pick up the ball and throw it to the wall. If the ball hits the wall before the original thrower touches it, the thrower is out.

Special Moves and Rules

• Beartrap: If a player catches the ball far from the wall, other players can yell "Beartrap!" This makes the thrower freeze in place. They can either throw the ball from where they are, or they can try to throw the ball up and run to the wall. If they don't reach the wall in time, they are out.
• Pegging: In some versions, if a player doesn't reach the wall in time, they might have to stand facing the wall. The player who got them out then gets to throw the ball at them. This is called "pegging."
• Butts Up Position: In another version, when a player gets "out" three times, they must lean against the wall with their butt in the air. Other players then take turns throwing the ball at them until they are hit. If the player isn't looking back, the thrower must lob the ball gently. But if the player *is* looking back, the thrower can throw the ball as hard as they want.

The game usually continues until only one player is left. This is called "three-out elimination."

Variations of the Game

Butts Up has many different ways to play, depending on where you are!

• Santa Clara County Variation: In some schools in Santa Clara County, California, if you got an "out," you'd stand with your hands on the wall. The player who got you out would try to "peg" you. If they hit a certain area, you'd get a "letter" (like B-U-T-T). Once you got all the letters, you'd leave the game.
• Huntington Beach "Sudden Death": In Huntington Beach, California, if a game goes on for a long time with only two players left, they enter "Sudden Death." Here, players must catch the ball before it bounces, or they are out. Also, if the ball hits the wall too high, the thrower is out.
• New England Wall Ball: In New England, especially around New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut, there's a different version of Wall Ball. Players line up and take turns hitting the ball. The ball must bounce, then hit the wall, then bounce again. The next person must hit the ball before its second bounce. This repeats for all players. This version is often seen as a separate game from Butts Up.
• Maryland Wall Ball: In Maryland, the game starts with an "icebreaker" throw. Players can catch the ball before it bounces. If you drop the ball or fumble it, you must touch the wall. If you're far from the wall with the ball, other players can yell "wallball!" This means you have ten seconds to hit the wall without moving. If you're out, you stand on the wall to be "pegged."
• Australian Fumble: In Australian schools, a similar game called Fumble is played. Here, players can also get out if they are hit by the ball. If the ball hits the ground before the wall, it becomes "anyone's ball." If you get out, you go on a waiting list, and the next person out replaces the first.

The rules can change a lot from one game to another, and even from school to school!

Game Words You Should Know

• Black Mail or Reach: If the ball is caught far away, a player can yell "Black Mail!" The player with the ball must then throw it to the wall without moving their feet.
• Break the Ice: To start the game by making the very first throw.
• Savies or Taxis or Relay: If a player is too far from the wall to throw the ball, they can throw it to another player. This "saver" then waits for the original thrower to run and touch the wall. But be careful, the saver could trick the thrower by throwing the ball to the wall too soon!
• Chicken Drops: Instead of a Savie, a player who is too far can drop the ball at their feet and run to the wall. Other players can then try to get them out by throwing the ball to the wall before they reach it. This move is not always popular!
• Double Touch: When a player touches the ball twice in a row, like if they fumble it. This usually means an automatic "out."
• Handsies: In some versions, touching the ball with both hands at once means you have to "hit the wall."
• Hit the Wall: This means a player must run and touch the wall quickly after making a mistake (like Handsies or Traveling). If another player throws the ball to the wall before they touch it, they are out.
• Over the Wall: If the ball is thrown over the wall, the thrower is usually "out." Someone has to get the ball back, and the game restarts.
• Peg: When a player throws the ball directly at another player.
• Self-Out: When a player throws the ball to the wall and then catches it themselves before it hits the ground. This rule is optional.
• Self-Peg: When a player throws the ball, it hits the wall, and then bounces back and hits the thrower. The thrower must then run to the wall before an opponent throws the ball to the wall.
• Stripping: In some games, a player might try to grab the ball from another player's hand. If they succeed, both players must run to the wall to avoid being out.
• Tie Goes to the Runner: If players can't agree if someone is safe or out, and it's a 50/50 split, the player stays in the game.
• Traveling: Moving both feet while holding the ball.
• Lockdown: When a player wins the game without ever getting an "out."
• Poison: When someone catches the ball before it hits the ground and yells "Poison!" The "poisoned" person must run to the wall before the catcher throws the ball to the wall.
• Beartrap: Freezes the thrower in place.

Australian Fumble Terms

• Fumbled: Yelled when a player drops the ball.
• Truce: Said to another player if you want to give them the ball because it's too far away.
• Full: Yelled when another player catches the ball directly, without it bouncing.
• Run to the Wall, Run to the Wall: Yelled when players need to touch the wall after touching the ball.
• Shoddy/Dibs service: Yelled at the start of a game if a player wants to throw first.
• Blocker: If another player blocks a throw and the ball bounces off them, both the thrower and the blocker need to run to the wall.
• Lost ball: If the ball goes into a drain or car park, the thrower must go get it.
• Near Miss: If the ball almost hits someone not playing, the thrower gets a warning.

Images for kids

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  A player in the "Butts Up" position, leaning against the wall during the game.