Dear Sean,
I'd like more detailed information on painting lines for a court. How wide are the inside and outside lines, and does the 16' court include the boundary lines or fall within them? Thanks. - John Sisson, 8/25/2008

Thanks for the note, John, this is a great question. It's very timely, as well, since I'm writing the boundaries section of the rule book this week. Here is what I'm writing, you get a sneak peek before it's published.

First let's remind ourselves of the boundary lines and what is in-bounds and out-of-bounds. We work off this "inside out, outside in" principle, which says that the inside lines of the court are out-of-bounds and any player hitting them with the ball is out. The outside lines, however, are considered in-bounds and and balls landing on the outside line is still in play. This means that players can have an 8 foot square where all the surface is playable, in short, the the 16 foot courtside includes the two perpendicular outside lines on each end.

The inside lines are negligible. They should be as thin as possible, even hairline thin, so that the square has as much playable space as possible. The only consideration when painting a thin inside line is to be sure that it is bright or bold or wide enough for visibility. The brighter the better with some players, if you know what I mean.

We typically make all the lines of the court 1-inch thick, coincidentally the same width as a roll of blue painter's masking tape, which our tape of choice for not destroying the finish on basketball floors.

Btw, where in the world do you happen to be painting courts? If you need any confirmed champions to come out and dedicate or christen the court with you, we have agents all over the country and could probably work something out. Good luck and stay in touch!

Dear Sean,

Hope that helps! - John F, 8/21/09

Thanks for the note, John. I'll address your comments in the order they were received.

I've played this bus stop rule of yours before, except we used to call it "backboards". It would let a player tap the ball once, allow the ball to hit the ground once, and then hit the ball a second time for real. It's pretty fun. We called it backboards because it was a lot like using the backboard of the basketball hoop to sink a basket.

But we know a different rule by the name of bus stop, and it's totally crack dope. Basically, the rule is such that if a designated person were to yell the words "bus stop" then all players would abandon the ball and run to the center of the court. The intersection of the four squares represents the school bus stop where the bus picks you up for school. The bus only has three seats and the last person to touch the bus stop with their foot is hosed and has to walk to school. They're out. It's a massive departure from the normal game.

To the same tune, the rule called "mailbox" means that kids have to run to the outside corner of their square. That corner is called the mailbox, its across the street from the bus stop, and the last kid to check their mail doesn't get any. They're out.

These are awesome rules, John, but I have to admit that your second suggestion just wouldn't work in our league. We're overflowing with aggressive type-A personalities who would rather argue their way out of a play then learn to play better. Letting the top player determine who was out is a big conflict of interest on the court, so we would rather leave it up to a third party.

I might begin calling four square "stone cold". I can call it whatever I want, actually, since that's where I am most of the time.

Thanks, John. Keep it real.

Dear Sean
Is there a rule about where you need to stand in your square during a serve? While you are in square 2 is it legal to be at the apex of squares 4,3, and 1? Is there anything saying you cannot? I know there is anti-poaching and interference rules, but is there anything saying the person occupying square 2 cannot crowd squares 4,3, and 1 and cause a misdirection of the serve once it is hit in the general direction? - "Bannerism", 7/21/2008

Thanks for the message, "Bannerism". You are actually asking two different questions, let me try to pull them apart.

The easy question you are asking is if can players can stand anywhere they want. The easy answer is yes, they can stand anywhere they want. There is no rule in our league about staying inside your square. If a player wants to crowd another square or run across the room, they take a big risk in being in poor position to defend their square.

You are also asking if players can interfere with a serve. The answer is no. The serves are meant to put the ball into play fairly. If other players were allowed to interfere with the serves then it creates too much opportunity for error and confusion about who should be out. Aside from the server calling special rules at the start of each round, it's actually the first receiver after the serve who starts the game. See how that works?

Squarefour is not the final word in four square since this game is really flexible and scalable - it can be adapted for any level of age or skill. Four square is a lot like poker, it's a widely known and accepted game but there are dozen or more ways to play it. I would leave it up to your local gang on how this is played in your neighborhood.

Hope this helps! Drop me a line if you have more questions or whatever.

Dear Sean,
During play, can a player occupying a specific square leave the square for any reason? I am under the impression that a player must always stay within their square. Please advise. Thanks - John, 6/1/2008

Hi John. I've answered this before but I'll give it another go.

The official ruling is that we let players run all over the court. But that doesn't mean this "ruling" is right for your players.

We're adults, we've signed releases, we play big, and that works for us. We enjoy the challenge of chasing the ball into the far corners of the gym or diving across the court in a last ditch effort to save yourself. The way we see it, its fine to leave your square but foolish to leave it empty and for the most part our athletes don't stray far.

But we have some other rules in place that make this possible.

The anti-poaching rule helps us keep clarify who is allowed to touch the ball and when. Basically this says if a ball touches a square then the only person who can hit it next is the owner of that square, anyone else touching it then would be out. This helps us make it clear when a player is in possession, not matter who might have crept into your square with you.

The interference variety of rules are designed to punish players who prevent a play from happening by getting in the way. This is one of the things stopping a player from flat out moving into another square and being in the way.

But on the flip side, there are advantages to keeping players in their squares.

There is less tendency for players to charge across the gym after a pop fly and accidentally crack some kids skulls together. It can keep the aggressive players in check.

So really, you can play any way you want, and four square is good in this way because you can adjust rules to suit the age and skill of the players. Let us know if this advice is helpful!

Dear Sean,
Hi my name is Brittany and I'm with the Round Rock, TX Convention and Visitors Bureau. We are interested in hosting and bringing tournaments and competitions to Round Rock. If you wouldn't mind, please provide us with more information about Squarefour.org such as 2009 tournaments and facility requirements. Thank you - Brittany Wilson, www.sportscapitaloftexas.com, 5/30/08

Hi Britt, thanks for the message. It would be real cool if you guys down in Texas took an interest in four square. We have one major event each year, the Four Square World Championships which take place in February. We've had about 100 people register each year and we're starting to outgrow our current arena. In fact, we're looking for a city that is willing to build us a new stadium so we can blow the lid off our registration caps. Round Rock, that city could be you.