For teachers, parents and anyone with a disc

Frisbee games for PE, kids, backyards and adults

Eighteen games that need a disc and very little else, sorted by who is playing: lead-up games for PE, easy games for younger kids, backyard and beach favourites, and a few properly competitive ones for adults. Each one comes with the players, space and kit it needs, how to set it up, how to win and one coaching tip.

Quick picks

Printable version: download this table and the set-up for every game as a two-page PDF, free to print for a PE department, a camp or a club. Planning a whole unit? The five-lesson ultimate PE unit is free as a PDF too.

Frisbee games for PE: lead-up games for ultimate

The first four games build on each other, so teach them in order: throwing past one defender, keeping possession as a team, scoring in a small target, then a real game on a small field. The last two keep a whole class busy at once with nobody waiting in line. If you are planning a full unit, our free five-lesson ultimate frisbee unit for PE sets out every lesson.

1. Monkey in the middle

• Players3 per group
• Spaceabout 10 yards
• Kit1 disc per group

Set up: two throwers stand about ten yards apart, with the third player — the monkey — between them.

How to play: the monkey runs to mark whoever has the disc, standing a disc’s width away and counting to five out loud. The thrower keeps one foot planted, pivots, and throws around the mark to the other end. The monkey then turns and marks the new thrower.

How to win: if the monkey knocks down or intercepts a throw, or reaches “five” before the disc is gone, the monkey swaps places with that thrower. The aim is to spend as little time in the middle as possible.

Coaching tip: teach the step-out first. A long stride to the side with the free foot opens up the space to throw; throwers who try to throw straight through the mark never find a way past.

2. Five passes

• Players6–10, two teams
• Spacea 20-yard square
• Kit1 disc, 4 cones, bibs

Set up: mark a square about 20 yards across with a cone at each corner and split the group into two teams of three to five.

How to play: the team with the disc tries to complete five passes in a row while the other team tries to knock it down or intercept it. Nobody runs with the disc, and the thrower has five seconds, counted out loud by the nearest defender. A drop, block, interception or throw out of the square hands the disc over, and the count restarts from zero.

How to win: five passes in a row scores a point. First team to five points, or the team ahead when you stop, wins.

Coaching tip: once the class has the idea, add one rule — no passing straight back to the player who just threw to you. It stops two strong players playing catch with each other while everyone else watches.

3. Hot box

• Players2–4 per team
• Spacea square about 40 yards across
• Kit1 disc, 8 cones

Set up: mark a big square roughly 40 yards on each side, and a tiny scoring box, about five feet square, in the middle. There is no out-of-bounds: the big square is there as the clear line.

How to play: ultimate rules — no running with the disc, and a turnover on any drop, block or interception. You score by completing a pass to a teammate standing in the box. After a score, the scoring team keeps the disc but must complete a pass outside the big square before it can score again. After a turnover inside the square, the new offence has to clear it the same way.

How to win: first to 5 or 7 points, or the team ahead after a set time.

Coaching tip: for a PE class, shrink the square to about 20 yards and make the scoring box a little bigger, so younger players actually score. Every player stays close to the disc, which is the point.

4. 3 v 3 mini-ultimate

• Players3 or 4 per team
• Spaceabout 40 × 20 yards
• Kit1 disc, 8 cones, bibs

Set up: mark a field about 40 yards long and 20 wide, with an end zone five yards deep at each end.

How to play: this is ultimate on a small field. Each team attacks one end zone and scores by catching a pass inside it. No running with the disc, a five-second stall count instead of the usual ten, and any drop, block, interception or throw out of bounds hands the disc to the other team where it stopped. After a score, the other team takes the disc from its own end-zone line and attacks. The full rules of ultimate add surprisingly little to this.

How to win: first to 5 points, or the team ahead when time is up.

Coaching tip: the rule that makes this work in PE is that a score only counts once everyone on the team has touched the disc. It stops the two fastest players doing all the work and makes everyone else move to get free.

5. Target course (PE frisbee golf)

• Players2–4 per hole
• Spacea playground or field
• Kit1 disc each, hoops, cones or bins

Set up: lay out six to nine “holes” — a hula hoop on the ground, a bin, or a cone to hit — each with a numbered tee cone 10 to 30 yards away. Start small groups on different holes so nobody waits.

How to play: it plays like golf. Everyone throws from the tee, then throws again from wherever their disc landed, until it lands in the hoop or hits the target.

How to win: count the throws on every hole. Lowest total at the end of the course wins.

Coaching tip: mix short holes with one long one and one that bends around a corner. The long hole is where students find out they need a flatter, harder throw. How disc golf differs from ultimate.

6. Frisbee relay

• Playersteams of 4–6
• Spaceabout 30 yards per team
• Kit1 disc per team, cones

Set up: each team spreads out in a straight line with about seven yards between players.

How to play: on “go”, the first player throws to the second, who catches, turns and throws to the third, and so on to the end of the line and back again. A dropped disc goes back to the player who threw it for another try. For older classes, a drop sends the disc back to the start.

How to win: the first team to get the disc to the end of the line and back wins. Everyone moves one place along and you race again.

Coaching tip: racing makes throws worse, and that is the lesson. After two races, ask the teams what went wrong; almost every answer will be about rushing the catch or the release.

Frisbee games for kids

For children who are still learning to catch, the best games make throwing the whole game. Use a light disc: children under about twelve do better with a 135–145 gram youth disc than a full 175-gram ultimate disc, and the youngest are happiest with a soft foam one.

7. Frisbee tic-tac-toe

• Playerstwo teams, any size
• Spaceabout 10 yards
• Kit9 hoops, discs or bibs in two colours

Set up: lay nine hula hoops in a three-by-three grid and mark a throwing line five to ten yards away. Give each team its own colour of disc, or a pile of coloured bibs to drop into the hoops it wins.

How to play: teams take turns to throw. A disc that lands and stays inside an empty hoop claims it; a miss claims nothing. Leave the discs where they land so everyone can see the board.

How to win: three hoops in a row — across, down or diagonally. If the board fills up with no line, the team with more hoops wins.

Coaching tip: move the line, not the rules. Start close enough that everyone claims a hoop early, then take a step back after each game.

8. Disc bowling

• Players2–6
• Spaceabout 15 yards
• Kit1 disc, 10 cones or plastic bottles

Set up: stand ten cones or part-filled plastic bottles in a triangle like bowling pins, and mark a throwing line about ten yards away.

How to play: each player gets two throws per turn to knock over as many pins as possible, then resets them for the next player. A disc that rolls into the pins still counts, so younger children can skim it along the ground.

How to win: add up the pins over five turns. Highest total wins.

Coaching tip: this is secretly a lesson in throwing flat. A disc released nose-up floats over the pins; a disc released flat and low goes straight through them. Most children work that out for themselves within a couple of turns.

9. Step-back catch

• Playerspairs
• Spaceabout 20 yards
• Kit1 disc per pair, cones

Set up: partners face each other three big steps apart, with a line of cones behind each of them about ten yards back.

How to play: throw back and forth. After every clean catch, both partners take one step back. After a drop, both take one step in.

How to win: the first pair to reach their cones, or the pair farthest apart when the whistle goes, wins.

Coaching tip: teach the pancake catch before you start — one hand on top, one underneath, clapping the disc between them. It is the catch that still holds when the throws get longer. How to throw a frisbee covers the other half.

10. Circle catch

• Players6–12
• Spacea circle about 10 yards across
• Kit1 disc

Set up: everyone stands in a circle about ten yards across.

How to play: throw across the circle, never to the person next to you, and call the catcher’s name before you throw. The whole group counts catches out loud, and a drop sets the count back to zero.

How to win: the group plays against its own record. Beat the best count, then widen the circle and try again.

Coaching tip: calling the name first is the whole point. The catcher gets a warning, the thrower has to decide before throwing, and in a new group everyone knows everyone’s name by the end.

Backyard and beach frisbee games

These are the frisbee yard games that work with four people and a patch of grass or sand. Most are aiming games, so nobody has to run far and mixed ages can play together.

11. 500

• Players3–8
• Spaceabout 30 yards
• Kit1 disc

Set up: one player is the thrower. Everyone else stands together 15 to 25 yards away.

How to play: before each throw, the thrower calls out what it is worth — 50, 100, 200 — and whoever catches it gets those points. Plenty of families add a rule that anyone who gets a hand to it and drops it loses the same amount.

How to win: the first player to 500 wins the round and becomes the next thrower. Some groups play to 1,000.

Coaching tip: the thrower controls the game, so rotate the job often with young children. High, floating throws give the smallest players a chance; flat, fast ones reward whoever is quickest.

12. KanJam

• Players4, two teams of two
• Spaceabout 50 feet
• Kita KanJam set and 1 disc

Set up: stand the two goals, or “kans”, about 50 feet apart. Partners stand at opposite goals, so each end has one player from each team.

How to play: one partner throws at the far goal while the other, the deflector, can slap or steer the disc but may not catch or carry it. A deflection that hits the side of the goal is a dinger (1 point); a throw that hits the side on its own is a deuce (2); a deflection into the top or through the front slot is a bucket (3). A throw that goes into the goal through the slot or the top with no help at all, and stays in, is an instant win.

How to win: reach exactly 21. A throw that would take a team past 21 has its points taken off instead.

Coaching tip: the deflector wins most games. Stand side-on to the goal with both hands ready, and practise guiding the disc down rather than swatting at it.

13. Polish horseshoes (the frisbee and bottle game)

• Players4, two teams of two
• Space20–40 feet
• Kit1 disc, 2 poles, 2 plastic bottles or cans

Set up: push two poles into the ground 20 to 40 feet apart and balance a plastic bottle or can on top of each. Each team stands behind one pole. The game goes by plenty of other names — frisbeener, French darts, frisnok and, at tailgates, beersbee.

How to play: teams take turns to throw at the other team’s pole. The defenders must catch the disc, and the bottle if it is knocked off, before either touches the ground. Hitting the bottle directly scores 1 if the defenders catch everything and 2 if the bottle hits the ground; hitting the pole and knocking the bottle to the ground scores 1; and dropping a catchable disc gives the throwers 1.

How to win: usually first to 21, winning by two.

Coaching tip: agree what “catchable” means before the first throw. Most arguments in this game are about reach, and the usual answer is within arm’s length plus one step.

14. Double disc court

• Players4, two teams of two
• Spacetwo 13-metre squares, 17 metres apart
• Kit2 discs, cones or rope

Set up: mark two square courts 13 metres (about 14 yards) on each side, 17 metres (about 19 yards) apart. One team stands in each court, each with a disc.

How to play: both discs are in play at once. You score 1 when your throw lands and stays in the other court, or when the other team drops it; they score 1 when your throw lands outside their court. The twist is the double: if one team ends up touching both discs at the same moment, the other team scores 2.

How to win: for a casual game, first to 11, winning by two.

Coaching tip: time your throw to land while the other team is still holding its disc. If they have to catch yours before they can let go of theirs, that is a double.

Frisbee games for adults

These are the frisbee games adults take seriously enough to write rulebooks for. Hot box, above, belongs on this list too — played quickly with four a side, it is a proper workout.

15. Guts

• Playerstwo teams of five, or fewer
• Spacetwo lines about 15 yards apart
• Kit1 disc

Set up: two teams of five (fewer is fine for a casual game) stand in lines facing each other about 15 yards apart. Each team’s scoring area is a little wider than its line of players.

How to play: one team throws the disc as hard as it can at the other. The receivers must catch it cleanly in one hand — no trapping it against the body — and cannot move until the disc has left the thrower’s hand. A throw that misses the scoring area is a point to the receivers; a throw inside it that is not caught cleanly is a point to the throwers.

How to win: at least 21 points, with a lead of two.

Coaching tip: a hard-thrown disc hurts. Start further apart than the rules say, build up to full-power throws, and keep it for adults and older teenagers.

16. Goaltimate

• Players4 per team
• Spacea circle about 45 yards across
• Kit1 disc and a goal: an arch 11 feet high and 18 feet wide

Set up: put up the goal with its scoring area, a half-oval about 24 feet wide and 24 feet deep, on the far side, and mark a clear line 25 yards out in front of it.

How to play: both teams attack the same goal. You score by throwing the disc through the arch to a teammate standing in the scoring area: 1 point normally, 2 if the pass came from beyond the clear line. After any score or turnover, the disc has to be passed beyond the clear line before anyone can score again, and the thrower has five seconds, counted by the defence.

How to win: games go to 5, usually as a best of three or five.

Coaching tip: no arch? Two tall poles with a rope across the top will do for practice, and the clear-line habit carries straight over to ultimate.

17. Discathon

• Playersany number
• Spacea course 200 metres to 1 kilometre long
• Kit2 discs each, flags or cones, hoops

Set up: lay out a cross-country course with gates for the disc to pass through, markers it must pass on a set side, and a few targets such as hula hoops.

How to play: it is a race run with throws. Throw, run after the disc, and make the next throw from where it landed — officially within 1.5 metres of it. Every gate, marker and target has to be completed, and official races start each player with two discs.

How to win: the race ends when your disc passes through the finish gate. First to get there wins.

Coaching tip: short, safe throws beat long gambles. A missed gate costs far more time than one extra throw.

18. Ultimate

• Players7 per team, or fewer for pickup
• Space110 × 40 yards
• Kit1 disc, cones

Set up: mark a playing field 70 yards long and 40 wide, with a 20-yard end zone at each end — here are the full field dimensions. With fewer players, shrink it.

How to play: each point starts with one team throwing off to the other. After that it is five passes and mini-ultimate on a bigger field: no running with the disc, a ten-second stall count, and any drop, block, interception or throw out of bounds turns the disc over. Players call their own fouls — most games have no referee, which is what the spirit of the game is about.

How to win: catch the disc in the end zone you are attacking to score. Official games go to 15.

Coaching tip: the first skill to learn is not a throw, it is getting open: move away from where you want the disc, then cut back towards it. How to play ultimate frisbee walks through a whole game.

How to pick the right game

Three questions settle it: how many people you have, how much space, and whether they can catch yet.

Whatever you choose, ten minutes of throwing in pairs first makes every game better. Our beginner drills include a warm-up that works for any group.

Frisbee game questions

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