History:
Roof Ball was invented in Rivertucky, California by Sean Miller, Kalen Williams, Brian Williams and Anshu Gupta (Team Surgical) on the Vernal Equinox of 2006. Through time many others have added their mark to the game: Kris Williams, Mike Hamblin and Michael Kohan being some of the most notable.
This image shows some of the creators of Roof Ball during a match. From the left: Mike Hamblin, Kalen Williams, Sean Miller, Brian Williams, Brian Smith and Kris Williams.
Rules:
The mechanics of the game are simple, though the scoring is somewhat complex - so the author has decided to provide a basic rule set first, then go on to the complete rule set.
Mike Hamblin throws a lob (effeminately) to start the game.
Basic Rule Set
Roof ball is a competition between two or more persons to be played in either the individual versus match or the team versus match variety. A sequence of players' turns to be run in circuit is established before the start of a match. The game is then played in sequential turns. Playing out of turn is a serious foul warranting the loss of a turn.
Each player will lob the ball onto the roof in turn. Many varieties of ball can be used such as the original "nerf" style ball, however tennis and wiffle balls are the most popular. The goal is to have the ball hit one of the chimneys poking through the roof on the down stroke. This is the essence of Roof Ball - points can only be scored after the ball has reached a peak in its motion and begins to tumble back down towards the thrower. To reiterate: points are scored on the way down, not the way up.
The Rivertucky roof (currently the only recognized Roof Ball court in the world) is shown photographically above and diagrammatically below.
As you can see, each of the chimneys is given a point value based on its crossectional area weighted against its distance from the playing field. In a basic game, players will accrue points until some target value is reached (11 points in a standard match with 2-5 players). It is impossible to exceed the target score. For instance if a player makes a 10 point shot after already having 5 points and the target score is 11, then that player has 11 points. Should a player reach the target score, every other player within range gets one last saving throw with which to close the entire score gap. In the event of a tie, a sudden death overtime tournament is invoked. The first player to score a point (still playing in the same sequence as the regular game) wins.
Advanced Rule Set
Before enumerating the advanced rule set, mention should be made of the democratic nature of Roof Ball. Roof Ball is a living organism which grows in complexity with each new player that dares set foot on the playing field. For this reason, there are two democratic laws governing how rules are deployed on a game to game basis. Law One: A rule set must be adopted before the start of each match by a simple majority vote between all veteran players; rookies get no love. Law Two: rule sets can be changed during a match by a unanimous vote ONLY, so as not to undercut any players' position; rookies can and must vote during these sessions.
Alley-Oops and between the legs Alley-Oops will multiply the score from any one turn where they are used by two times and three times respectively. To perform an Alley-Oop, a player must catch the ball as it rolls off the roof (from the previous player's throw) and quickly throw it back on to the roof all while in mid air. If any of these criteria are not satisfied, or if the ball is dropped or fumbled while in the air - the player has performed a Failed Attempt and he loses his turn. Typically his opponents will mock the attempt by shouting "Failed Attempt!" Many variations of a Kick-Shot have been attempted with limited success - though the possibility has not been completely abandoned.
Sean Miller attempts an Alley-Oop conversion while watching an ant hill.
Brian Williams attempts a between the legs Alley-Oop conversion while making his "O" face. Kris is not amused.
Negative points can be used to curb game delaying activities such as roof overages, or to penalize sloppy game-play. Negatives work in analog with positive point rules. That is to say, if one performs an Alley-Oop which results in a negative point acquisition, the amount of negative points will be doubled. In some instances, the negative point rules listed below may become too burdensome, in which case a "0 floor" rule can be instated which does not allow a player to lose any more points once they are at 0.
Since the 10 point chimney is the most coveted and the closest to the roof's apex, roof overages are nearly unavoidable. Typically a point value ranging from 1-5 points will be subtracted from a player who tosses the ball over the roof. On the second occasion of overthrowing the roof - the player is eliminated unless a throw back rule is in place. Simply put, a throw back gives an eliminated player a chance to throw the ball from the opposite side of the house and hit some target to re-enter the game. This target can be either moving (e.g. another player) or stationary (e.g. a chair).
The Forward Motion rule transforms the chimneys into hazards as the ball works its way up the roof initially. For instance, if one throws the ball at the 2 point chimney while the ball has forward momentum, they will lose 2 points. It is important to note that all points, either positive or negative are enumerated in series. That is to say it is possible to hit the 2 point chimney both on the way up and the way down for a net change of 0 points.
This concept is furthered by an additive rule which states that if the ball bounces off a chimney, then strikes a chimney again (all the while on its way back down) the points of the two chimneys are to be added to the score for that turn. Furthermore, if the ball bounces then hits the same chimney again, those points are added. This rule in conjunction with the Alley-Oop multipliers opens up the opportunity for massive scores in one turn.