Guides · Games and drills
Quick answer: the most popular pickleball games are skinny singles (half-court singles for two), dink to 11 (a soft game played only in the kitchen), king of the court and up and down the river (rotations for a crowd), around the world and four square for mixed groups, and wall drills when you are alone.
A normal game of doubles to 11 is the heart of pickleball, but it is not the only thing to do on a court. The games below fix the usual problems: an odd number of people, a group with very mixed levels, a beginner who needs more touches, or a crowd waiting for one court. Most of them also train one real skill without feeling like a drill. They are grouped by how many people you have.
Play singles on half the court: either straight ahead (right half against right half) or crosscourt (diagonal half against diagonal half). Serve, the two-bounce rule and the kitchen all apply as normal. Because the court is only 10 ft wide, nobody can win with pure running, so points are won with placement and patience, exactly like doubles. It is the best game for two people who normally play doubles. Crosscourt skinny singles is the classic warm-up for doubles dinking. Play to 11 and switch halves.
Both players stand at the kitchen line. Start the rally with a dink, and every shot must land in the kitchen. A ball that lands outside the kitchen, into the net, or out is a lost point. Score every rally and play to 11. Variations: allow one speed-up per rally when a ball pops up, or play crosscourt only. Nothing builds soft hands faster; see how to dink for the technique.
One player serves from the baseline and must hit a third-shot drop that lands in the kitchen, then move up. The receiver returns deep and waits at the line. If the drop lands in the kitchen, play the point out; if it does not, the receiver wins the point. Swap roles every five serves. It turns the hardest shot in the sport into a game you can keep score of.
A cooperative game: both players rally and count consecutive shots that clear the net and land in. Set a target (20 for beginners, 50 or 100 for regulars) and start again from zero after any miss. Add a rule, such as every shot must bounce, or every shot must be a dink, to make it harder. It is the best first game for a brand-new player, because it rewards control instead of winners.
Put a towel or two cones in the deep third of each service box. Each player gets ten serves; one point for landing in the box, three for hitting the target zone, zero for a fault. Then do the same for returns. Deep serves and deep returns win more points at the 3.0 level than any fancy shot, which is why beginner strategy starts there.
Split players into two lines, one behind each baseline. The first player in each line rallies; after hitting, each player runs to the back of the other side’s line. Miss a shot and you are out. When only two remain, they play a short point to decide the winner. It works with any number from five up, keeps everyone moving, and is a hit with kids and mixed-level groups.
Divide the court into four squares, two on each side of the net, with one player in each. The player in the top square serves. You may hit to any square other than your own, the ball may bounce once in your square, and the player who misses moves to the lowest square while everyone below moves up. Some people use special four-way nets; tape lines on a normal court work fine. Fast, loud, and good for groups that like chaos.
One side of the court is the king side. Challengers wait in a line on the other side and play one point, or a game to 3, against the king. Win and you take the throne; lose and you go to the back of the line. With four or more people, play it as doubles teams. The pressure of defending the throne is good practice for tight game points.
Regular doubles with one rule: a team must hit at least three dinks in a row before anyone may speed the ball up. It stops the banging game that ruins many rec sessions and teaches patience at the line. Loosen it to one dink once everyone is comfortable.
With several courts, number them from top to bottom. Play short timed games or games to 11. Winners move up a court and split up so everyone gets new partners; losers move down and split too. After a few rounds the courts sort themselves by level while everyone still meets everyone. It is the standard format for a social ladder night.
Before the session, make a rotation so every player partners with every other player once, or as close as your numbers allow. Each player keeps their own points total across all games; the highest total wins the night. It is fairer than fixed teams because nobody is stuck with the strongest or weakest partner all evening.
Alone, a flat wall is the best partner you will find. Stand about 7 ft away and hit soft forehand and backhand volleys; then step back and practise drives; then mark a line at net height and try to drop balls just above it. Count your longest streak and try to beat it.
No wall, rain outside, or just want a game? VS Pickleball is a free pickleball game you can play online in your browser. The kitchen, the two-bounce rule and rally scoring are all enforced, and you can play singles against the CPU, doubles with an AI partner, or 2 players on one keyboard.
Play a pickleball game online| You have | Play |
|---|---|
| 2 players | Skinny singles, dink to 11, keep it up |
| 3 players | King of the court, around the world, skinny singles with the third player rotating in |
| 4 players | Four square, dink and drive doubles |
| 5 to 8 players, one court | Around the world, king of the court with doubles teams |
| A club night, several courts | Up and down the river, round robin scramble |
| Just you | Wall drills, target serves, or play online |
Keep going: the games above work best once you know how scoring works and the doubles rules.
Or play a match online right now.