Topic 2: In and Out

In and Out is a game that requires more than three players. One player starts the game by shooting from the free throw line. If they make two shots in a row, they can eliminate a player of their choosing. If they miss their shot, they must try to rebound the ball, and the person closest to the ball where it lands are the two people ‘in play’. Whoever gets to the ball first is the attacker and the other is the defender. If the attacker makes a shot, the defender is eliminated.

There are always two people that are considered ‘in play’. [The other nearby players should maintain relatively still so as not to interfere] The primary player is usually the last person to shoot the ball, and the secondary player is the closest moving person to the ball. (If all players stayed frozen, whoever is closest to where the ball landed is automatically ‘in play’) Whoever then gets the ball is considered the primary player, aka the attacker, and the secondary player is the defender. However, during play, if another person is closer and makes a move for the ball, that person is now ‘in play’: Again, whoever gets the ball is the primary, and the last person that moved for the ball is now the secondary.

If you are eliminated, you stand off the court, at the foot of the basket, but you can still get back into the game. If a player shoots an air ball, you can get back in the game if you are the one to catch it before it touches the ground. You then become the attacker and the person who made the air ball shot is the defender. (For this rule, you do have to remain off the court when catching the air ball so as not to be actively interfering in the game). The game is over when all but one player has been eliminated. The last player standing is the winner.

Additional common rule:

If a player eliminates a certain number of people by making shots from the free throw line (a common number is five), then they must then start shooting from the top of the key.

The last player either cannot be eliminated with a free throw or must be eliminated with an extra shot to end the game, either from the top of the key or from the half court line.

If the player makes two shots in a row, if they do not want to eliminate another player, they can get an “extra life”. The extra life gives the player another chance if they get eliminated.