Volleypong is a combination of volleyball and ping pong. It uses the equipment of ping pong while borrowing many rules from volleyball. The following document outlines its rules. Because volleypong is still in its infancy, the rules are subject to change. If you have any suggestions about potential rule changes, please let us know, and we can try them out.

Required Equipment

• 4 ping pong paddles
• 1 ping pong ball
• 1 ping pong table
• 2 teams of 2 players each

Rules

Serving

Who serves?

• When a game starts, if one of the two teams playing has just won a game, that team serves first. If neither team has just won a game, the two teams may rally to win the first serve.
• Throughout the match, the team who most recently scored a point serves. The two players on a team should take turns serving, alternating after every point. It does not matter which player goes first.

How to Serve?

• A successful serve involves a player hitting the ball such that it first bounces on their own side of the table, then goes over the net and bounces on the opponent’s side of the table. The ball must travel diagonally (i.e. the ball must bounce on the opposite half of the table on the opponent’s side as it did on the server’s side). The ball may not touch the net at any point during the serve.
• An unsuccessful serve is deemed a “fault”. A player who serves a fault is given one chance to re-serve. If they serve another fault, the opposing team is awarded the point.

Returning a Serve

• Once a serve has been made, the opposing team must begin returning the serve immediately after it bounces on their side. The ball may not bounce a second time on their side of the table or on the floor. If it does, the serving team is awarded the point.

Rallying

• Each team is allowed to strike the ball a maximum of three times before it must be returned to the other team. During this period, the ball is considered in their possession. Once the ball is returned, it is in the opposing team’s possession.
• A ball is considered returned if it goes directly from a player’s paddle to the opposing team’s side of the table. Note that this includes going off of the wall first or hitting the net first before hitting the opposing team’s side of the table. Note that this does not include going off of the the floor first of hitting one’s own side of the table first before hitting the opponent’s side of the table.