From what I’ve heard most people don’t know about this game. If you have, then your elementary school or summer camp most likely had one of those octagonal structures where about 15-20 children would all crowd inside and try to break each other’s shins with a plastic ball. However, I have played the game back in my olden days of Catholic school, where I was once one of those children playing against my peers in the pit, and then my friend accidentally knocked one of their teeth out while lunging for the ball. Despite that, it is quite a simple and entertaining game.
The origins of Gaga ball can be traced back to Jewish summer camps in the 1970s. Gaga roughly translates to “touch-touch” in Hebrew. It soon spread in popularity around the time that dodgeball started to become banned in several schools for being too violent, so people needed a new and easy game to play that doesn’t require too much athletic ability. Nowadays, you can occasionally find a large structure, typically wooden, with eight sides at your local summer camp or school.
The rules of the game are simple. The game starts when all players gather inside of the enclosed structure provided, and one designated person begins the ritual by throwing the ball into the pit. The ball must be bounced three times, and on each bounce everybody must say “ga, ga, BALL.” Then, it’s a rabid free-for-all where you must eliminate other players to win. You do so by hitting the ball across the ground to hit another player below the waist to eliminate them. You cannot pick up the ball or scoop it because that might cause you to get your fingertips scraped off on the usually concrete ground, so it’s best to hit it with a closed fist. You cannot hit the ball twice in a row, which is typically called “double-tapping.” However, on some occasions players will hit the ball against the wall several times before aiming at another player. For some reason, this is not considered double tapping because it hits the wall before you touch it again. If you are out, you must leave the pit and watch from the outside. The last one left standing wins, and it will usually be the most athletic person winning every time. After that, a new round begins where it starts all over again. Overall, the game is very fun to do many times, until you get bored.
