Badminton Rules
- Players
- 2 (singles) or 4 (doubles)
- Ages
- 8+
- Setup time
- 5-10 min
- Space
- About 20 x 44 ft for a full court, less for casual rallies
What you need
- A net set to 5 ft at the center (5 ft 1 in at the posts)
- Two or four rackets
- Shuttlecocks (feather for serious play, nylon for durable backyard use)
- A flat, open patch of lawn or driveway
- Optional: boundary markers or chalk lines for a real court
Set it up
Full court is 44 ft long by 20 ft wide (17 ft for singles). The net stands 5 ft high at center and 5 ft 1 in at the posts. For casual backyard play you can shrink the court, but keep the net height close to 5 ft so serves and clears feel right.
Scoring
- Traditional 21-point format: every rally scores a point, regardless of who served.
- You must win by 2 points. If the score reaches 20-20, play continues until one side leads by 2.
- There is a hard cap at 30. At 29-29, the first side to reach 30 wins the game.
- A match is best of three games. Players switch ends after each game.
How to play
- Set up the net. Stretch the net across the middle of your court so the top sits 5 ft high at the center and 5 ft 1 in at the side posts. The court is 44 ft long; singles is 17 ft wide, doubles is 20 ft wide.
- Decide singles or doubles. Two players square off in singles. Four players (two per side) play doubles, which uses the wider sidelines. Pick before you serve so everyone knows the boundaries.
- Serve diagonally and underhand. Serve diagonally from inside the service court with a low underhand action into the opposite service court. Keep both feet in contact with the ground until the serve is delivered. Use the formal service rules if playing a regulated match.
- Rally until the shuttle lands. Players take turns hitting the shuttle over the net. A shuttle that lands inside the boundary lines scores against that side. You may only hit the shuttle once per side.
- Score on every rally. Whoever wins the rally scores a point and serves next. There is no need to be serving to score (rally scoring).
- Switch service courts as you score. When the serving side's score is even, they serve from the right court; when it is odd, they serve from the left. This keeps the diagonal serve alternating correctly.