Tetherball is the most elemental game on this site. A pole, a rope, a ball, two players. Each tries to wind the ball around the pole in their direction while the other hits it back. It needs no scoring system, no referee and no teaching — and it is the only head-to-head game here that a child can play genuinely competitively against an adult.
It also has almost nothing to buy, which makes the one real decision easy to see: the base.
The spec sheet
What GoSports publishes
| Element | Published |
|---|---|
| Pole | 3-piece, heavy-duty powder-coated steel |
| Base | Stakes into grass or sand |
| Included | Pole, tetherball with rope, ball pump |
| Play area | Minimum 15 ft diameter of open space |
| Pole height | Not published |
| Pole diameter | Not published |
| Ball size | Not published |
| Rope length | Not published |
The play area is the most useful published figure, and it is one few makers bother with. A 15-foot circle is smaller than almost every other game on this site — but it is a circle, not a corridor, so it has to be clear in every direction. A fence or a flowerbed inside that circle is where the ball goes on every big swing.
Criteria
How we picked
- Verified in stock at the maker. This category ran almost dry — every Park & Sun set we checked was sold out on its own product page, despite a search listing that said otherwise. That is why this page has one pick.
- Complete in the box. Pole, ball, rope and pump. A tetherball set that needs a separate ball purchase is half a set.
- A published play area. GoSports gives one. It is the planning number.
We have not played with it. GoSports publishes no pole height, no diameter and no ball size, and we have left all of those blank rather than guessing — how we pick.
Crowd and space
Where tetherball fits
- Two players, genuinely. Tetherball is one of the best pure two-player games we cover, with no waiting and no dead time — games for two players.
- Small yards. A 15-foot circle fits where a cornhole court does not — yard games for small yards.
- Kids. The schoolyard classic, and the one children will play alone against a wall of friends waiting their turn — games for kids.
The obvious rival is the other schoolyard game that has made it to backyards: tetherball vs gaga ball.
Honest limits
The one thing to watch
The ball is soft; the speed is not. At the end of a taut rope a tetherball moves fast, and a small child standing inside the circle who is not playing is the person who gets hit. Keep spectators outside the 15-foot circle — which is exactly why GoSports publishes it.
The picks in full
Every pick, with its published specs
Best portable tetherball
GoSports Tetherball Game Set
GoSports
Our spec score
6.9/10
- Spec completeness
- 4/10
- Footprint clarity
- 8/10
- Durability
- 6/10
- Pack-down
- 7/10
Scored on published specifications only. We have not played this set.
A three-piece powder-coated steel pole that stakes into grass or sand, with a tetherball on its rope and a pump — GoSports publishes a minimum 15-foot circle of open space for play.
Skip this if
Skip this if you want a permanent pole. This one stakes into the ground rather than setting in concrete or an in-ground sleeve, and GoSports publishes no pole height, no diameter and no ball size.
What works
- Publishes the play area — a 15 ft open circle — which is the planning number
- Stakes in, so there is no concrete and no sleeve to dig
- Works on sand as well as grass
- Complete: pole, ball, rope and pump
What does not
- No published pole height
- A staked pole can lean under hard play in soft ground
- No ball or rope specifications
Published specifications
- Pole
- 3-piece, heavy-duty powder-coated steel
- Base
- Stakes into grass or sand
- Included
- Pole, tetherball with rope, ball pump
- Play area
- Minimum 15 ft diameter of open space
- Pole height
- —
- Pole diameter
- —
- Ball size
- —
- Rope length
- —
- Set weight
- —
Source: GoSports product listing
Source: GoSports product listing
Source: GoSports product listing
Source: GoSports product listing
Not published by the manufacturer.
Not published by the manufacturer.
Not published by the manufacturer.
Not published by the manufacturer.
Not published by the manufacturer.
Manufacturer listing: GoSports product listing
FAQ
Questions people actually ask
How much space does tetherball need?
Portable or in-ground tetherball pole?
Can you play tetherball on sand?
What age is tetherball for?
Why you can check our work
We have not played these. Every figure above is copied from a manufacturer's published listing or a governing body's published rules, and named so you can verify it. Where a maker publishes nothing, the field is blank rather than filled in. How we pick explains the whole method, including what would change a recommendation.
Read next
Related pages
Picks
Field & chase games
Running games for big open lawns — disc golf, capture the flag and gaga ball, and what each needs.
Comparison
Tetherball vs gaga ball
Two players and a pole, or a dozen in a pit — the published play areas and who each one is for.
Picks
Yard games for two players
The games that are complete with two people — and the ones that quietly need four.
Picks
Best yard games for kids
Games chosen on published age floors and equipment weight, plus the ones to avoid outright.
Picks
Best yard games for small yards
Five games that fit under 30 feet of clear run, with published footprints for each.
Picks
Yard games for a school field day
Fixed rotations and thirty children a station — what resets fast and survives all day.
Sources
Every figure on this page is copied from one of these sources. If you find one that is wrong or out of date, tell us and we will fix it.