Tuesday, October 26, 2010

The Catch Up Rule

Have you ever been with three people and all wanted to partake in a 1 on 1 game together? Finally there is a solution to make doing so as fair as possible. TheCatchUpRule.blogspot.com has created a system to fairly play 1 on 1 games with three people.

Begin by choosing who will sit out first. It doesn't matter in the least who this is because The Catch-Up Rule will make the game even in the end!

To explain the rule, I'll create an example. A, B, and C are playing 1 on 1 basketball. Player B decides to sit out first. They are seeing who is the first to score 21 points and the winner is staying on the court after each point is scored (The winner also keeps possession of the ball).

To make it completely fair, B (who's sitting out) throws up a jump ball to see who will start with the ball. Once the game has concluded, the scores are totaled and B scored 20 points, C scored 21 (the current winner), and A scored 10 (he's pretty bad at hoops). In a normal situation, B would be pissed and most likely start a fist fight with C, but The Catch-up Rule (pronounced 'ket'chup') is here to save the day!

Because B sat out first, he gets one chance to play against the winner to try to earn back the point he never got a chance to get. A does a tip-off (because he's sitting out) and after winning B starts with the ball. If he scores then he gets an additional point, and if he doesn't the game is over and C is declared the winner. However, if B does score then B and C now go into a final point to declare the true winner. Because B was last to score he starts with the ball again, and if he drains a shot then The Catch-up Rule proves it's worthyness in the 1 vs. 1 vs. 1 realm.

A diagram to visualize the rule:


The third wheel will never be a tricycle-style wheel again.

Note: In a non-basketball situation, like playing Halo (Yes, you could play three player, but then the screen get's split up into smaller pieces for players 2 and 3), use rock-paper-scissors or arm-wrestling to decide who goes first.

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