In The Art of Pickleball, I listed game variations suggested by the USAPA. In this post, I’ll share those with you again, along with some new variations I’ve tried or that have been suggested by other players. Why are these of interest? These game variants can even out the play between people who are stronger or more advanced than the others. Handicapping game variations also help when a player is recovering from an injury or illness and can’t play “up to snuff.” Variation games can provide practice in dinking, a necessary component in a better player’s repertoire, or require that you practice ball placement or difficult shots, improving your game. Lastly, variants on the standard game can allow two or three doubles players to have a good game together.

For Doubles:

• Serve Handicapping: Allow the weaker side or player additional serves.
• Point Handicapping: Spot the weaker player points at the start of a game.
• Dinking Game: All players play a half-court game at the non-volley zone line (becomes the baseline and it’s a fault if the ball lands behind it). The ball must bounce before every stroke. Variants include: no lobs; only dinks; half-court for singles; and a four-dink rule: you must dink over the net four times before you can make any other type of shot.
• No Volley Game: Regular pickleball rules except all shots must be hit off the bounce.

For Singles:

• Half-Court Strong Side: Player with greater skill/strength plays to opponent’s half of the court (the quadrant where the ball came from). Lesser-skilled player can return anywhere on the other court.
• Half-Court Both Sides: Both players play the entire game on one side of their court. This can be done by dividing the court in half or playing across diagonal quadrants as when serving.

For Three Players:

• Australian Doubles/Cutthroat: The serving player plays against two players. Service is from the right court when his or her score is even and from the left court when it’s odd. The server gets two serves before having to move to the opposite (receiving side), at which point players rotate clockwise into their new serving and receiving positions. The server calls his score first, then the score of the opposing player on the left, followed by the score of the opposing player on the right. The server continues to score points until he faults the second time. The game ends when a player's score reaches eleven (11) points. Variants include having to return the service to the court where it originated (requires less running for the single player).

You can make your own variant games, too. If you need practice with a particular type of shot, then develop a game that requires that shot as part of the rules. For example, let’s say your backhand shots aren’t as good as your forehand. You might play a game where you and your opponent must hit all shots backhand in a half-court game. If your opponent has trouble with lobs and you have problems getting into the soft game, play a game of “Lob/Dropshot”: your opponent lobs to you and you return a dropshot as close behind the net as you can. You might make a rule that your opponent’s lob must go over your head and your shot must land within the non-volley zone to be good.

Game variants like these will allow you to play even when you can't find enough people for doubles and will help you practice skills that standard games don’t always emphasize.

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And now, for something completely different, I want to share this with you:

http://www.studystack.com/menu-218056 — Designed for students learning pickleball in school, this site features fun (silly) games and study aids that kids (and some of you light-hearted grownups) might enjoy. My favorite: Bug Match, where your spider gets points for eating the bug corresponding to the correct answer to a question about pickleball.

Until next week, with relish!