List of dodgeball variations

The following is a list of rules variations from around the world, for the collection of games known as dodgeball.

Army dodgeball, also known as medic, consists of two teams, and is normally played in a medium-sized arena (such as a basketball court or a parking lot). The two teams are picked and a line is made in the center of the playing area. Each team is assigned a side and neither team may cross the center line or they risk being automatically eliminated. Several dodgeballs are then distributed to the teams. Each player then tries to hit the other team's players with the balls, and the spot that is hit is therefore "wounded" and the player must move to the back of the playing area and wait for the "medic" to come heal them. The medic is one player assigned at the beginning of the game by each team. As the two teams throw the ball(s) at each other, if a "wounded" player is hit by a ball before being "healed" they are then removed from the game. The game ends when one player remains unwounded and not out. The game is best played by a medium-sized group (10–30) and lasts from 20 minutes to an hour. One variant of army dodgeball is no man's land dodgeball, with a medium-sized "freezone" in the center on the court which any player on any team can enter, resulting in a more close-range environment; there are no back up medics in the game.

Bombardment is a game played with two teams and five balls on an inside gym (usually a basketball or netball court) divided into three roughly equal zones. Each team can roam freely in their own zone, or in the central no-man's land that divides their zones. If you are hit with a ball on the full, you are out, if you catch a ball on the full, the teammate who has been out longest returns to the game (in some versions of bombardment, you can bring back more players). Deflecting a ball with a ball that a player is holding is allowed.

Bombardment is played with two teams each with three pins and five dodgeballs. The objective is to knock over all the opposing team's pins or eliminate all the players on the other team. Players can get out by getting hit, however it must be below the neck. Also if a ball is thrown and a player catches it on the full, the player who threw it is out and the teammate who has been out longest returns to the game (in some versions of bombardment, you can choose who to bring back). There are several variations such as if the game is played in a gym. If a player hits the basketball hoop's backboard then that team frees all eliminated players. The game is also sometimes played with three pins per team and variations of this game are also known as Pin Guard or Battle Ball. Another variation changes the purpose of the pins, in this variation it restores all the members of the opposing team.

Doctor dodgeball (a.k.a. dr. dodgeball, doctor dodge, doctor-doctor, hospital, or medic) involves a leader in each team who tries to avoid getting hit. When players are hit, they fall on the ground and wait for their team's doctor to come and save them. When the doctor saves the fallen players, they can get up and play again. The game ends when one team is entirely eliminated, which would happen a lot quicker if a team loses their "doctor". Another variation of the game ends as soon as the doctor is hit. Therefore, it is key for a team to pay attention in order to figure out who the enemy doctor is. Some teams employ a "fake doctor" strategy to throw the opposing team off-guard as to who the doctor actually is, but in some games the doctor is known to both teams beforehand.

...
Wikipedia