Why 9 Square in the Air is the Best Large Group Game

Outdoor games are always a win for group gatherings. Games provide a way to break up the endless cycle of sometimes awkward conversation bringing people together in a shared competitive experience. With a game, we can connect with strangers through the common ground of the game’s rules and fun.

Having said that, many outdoor games also have their downsides: some players are more athletic than others, the added element of teams can cause tensions between players at different athletic levels. Even worse, some players are often much more practiced at well-known games like volleyball.

In steps “9 Square in the Air”! A fun combination of 4 Square and volleyball, 9 Square in the Air is a game for all ages that brings friends and families together for a fun competitive challenge of keeping a ball in the air across a grid of intersecting pipes. These pipes are lightweight, easy-to-set-up, and very portable, making them ideal for any party situation.

Below are some great ideas of how you can use 9 Square in the air and why it makes the perfect game for any party.

9 Square is the perfect choice for church gatherings, especially youth groups. An essential part of every youth group is a fun game, but many of these games can get boring after playing them too much. Church groups will soon tire after the 200th match of dodgeball or Ultimate Frisbee. At the same time, learning a whole new game with unfamiliar rules can also be intimidating. Thankfully, 9 Square solves both of these problems: it feels fresh, but it can be learned in a matter of seconds: just step into the game and keep the ball in the air. Any teenager can understand that. When you make 9 Square a routine part of your game time circulation, teenagers will want to come back to your youth group again and again just to play this addictive game that they can’t play anywhere else. In addition, its portability also makes it a great choice for youth group retreats. You can take 9 Square in the Air to the retreat or camp with you and keep the fun going all day long.

Any graduation party is taken up a notch with the addition of an outdoor game, like volleyball or croquet. Instead of offering the same game that every other graduation party will use, why not surprise your guests with one they’ve never played, like 9 Square in the Air? High school graduates and their friends naturally social and competitive, which is positive, but a point of division between many young adults (and their cliques) is athletic ability. Many graduation parties with tried-and-true outdoor games like volleyball will probably make the more than athletic teens happy while alienating the less athletic teenagers. A perfect solution is a game that will be new to everyone and involves rules that encourage less aggressively-competitive behavior. Of course, 9 Square is still meant to competitive (everyone wants to win!) but like 4 Square, the game is less about defeating someone than it is about surviving to stay in the game. Players will have a difficult time targeting weaker competitors (which can result in embarrassing situations for the less athletic) because the arrangement of the game is constantly moving, and placing more competitive players closer together.

Do you regularly attend family reunions? If the answer is “yes,” then you probably have a strong opinion about them, whether positive or negative. For many, a family reunion is a special time to catch up with relatives they haven’t seen in a long time. For others, a family reunion can be a routine but painful obligation, forcing them to socialize with people whom they barely know and with whom they share little in common (outside the family tree, of course). But what if you are the host of the family reunion? What if you thought the reunion was a good idea but you’re worried that some relatives won’t enjoy themselves? We here at 9 Square in the Air understand that nothing can break the feeling of party awkwardness like an outdoor game. A fun game of 9 Square can help build community among your family members!

Many other outdoor games, such as volleyball, are fun for a small group but can be difficult to scale to large gatherings. With volleyball, the court can quickly get overcrowded with too many players, potentially leaving many people on the sidelines watching. A better idea is a game like 9 Square, which can accommodate any size group because of its nature as a rotating game. After every back-and-forth volley, one player is eliminated and another can step into the action. Similar to 4 Square, the game with start with 9 players, while the rest of the players will line up on the sides and watch the game until their turn comes. The fast-paced, in-and-out action of 9 Square naturally accommodates large groups because even the longest lines are moved through quickly. Better still, the game is just as fun to watch as it is to play. Waiting your turn is less a chore than it is a spectator sport. So next time you have a large gathering, try it out.

9 Square in the Air is the ideal outdoor game for any kind of gathering. As long as you have 9 people (and even if you don’t), you can bring 9 Square to the party, set it up in a matter of minutes, and start the nonstop fun.

Every day we hear new stories of the places and events where 9 Square is being played: on a basketball court, in a backyard, and even on the beach. We can’t wait to hear your story, too.