Wiffle BallRules Card

What you need

• An official WIFFLE ball (the white plastic ball with eight oblong holes on one side) or a similar perforated ball
• A plastic wiffle bat, usually the skinny yellow kind
• Open space: a backyard, driveway, or empty field works fine
• Something to mark bases or hit zones, like cones, chalk, or just a tree and a fence
• Optional but recommended: a strike-zone target board or even a folding chair to act as the strike zone

Set it up

There is no single regulation backyard distance, so set the pitching rubber a comfortable throw from the batter, often around 20 to 25 ft for kids and a bit more for adults who want movement on the ball. The strike-zone target sits a few feet behind the batter. Foul lines and home-run boundaries are set by whatever your yard offers, like a fence, a tree line, or a chalk arc. Agree on all of it before the first pitch so nobody relitigates a home run later.

Scoring

• Runs score the way they do in baseball, by advancing runners home, but most backyard games use 'ghost runners' since there are too few players to fill the bases
• Many yards use zone hitting: a ball landing past a set line is a single, double, triple, or home run by distance instead of running the bases
• A clean catch of a fly ball is an out; a swing-and-miss or a pitch hitting the strike-zone target is a strike, and three strikes is an out
• Three outs end the half inning and the sides switch
• Play a fixed number of innings, commonly three to seven, and the most runs wins

How to play

1. Mark out a field. Set a home plate and decide where the foul lines run, usually toward two landmarks like a tree on the left and a fence on the right. Pick a pitching spot a comfortable distance from the batter. You do not need real bases, just agreed-on landmarks for singles, doubles, and home runs.
2. Set the strike zone. Stand a strike-zone target board, a leaning piece of cardboard, or a chair behind the batter. A pitch that hits the target is a strike, which removes the need for a catcher or umpire. This is the single rule that lets two people play a full game.
3. Pitch it in. The pitcher throws toward the strike zone. The wiffle ball curves hard depending on how you hold the holes, so most backyard pitchers throw a controlled fastball, riser, or curve rather than burning it in. Agree up front on pitch speed, especially with little kids in the mix.
4. Bat and call the hit. The batter swings and tries to put the ball in play past the pitcher. Because you usually have few or no fielders, decide ahead of time what counts as a single, double, triple, and home run based on how far the ball lands. A ball over the back fence is the classic home run.
5. Make outs. A batter is out on a swinging or called strike three, on a caught fly ball, or by ground rules you set (some yards play that a grounder fielded cleanly is an out). Three outs end the half inning, just like baseball.
6. Score runs and rotate. Advance real or imaginary runners according to the agreed hit values. A run scores only when a runner reaches home; a single is not automatically a run. Switch sides after three outs and play the agreed innings. Most runs wins.