the Army as early as 1943. In this variant of the game, all kicks had to be home runs, by beating the kicked ball back to home after consecutive passes to all basemen before throwing them out at home. Field The game is typically played on a softball diamond with an 8.5 inch to 16 inch diameter inflated rubber ball. As in baseball/softball, the game uses 3 bases, a pitcher's mound, and a home plate. Sometimes, in less formal games, the field is not bounded by a fence as in softball or baseball, but is open. This may result in informal rule changes to accommodate the field, such as home runs being counted by number of bounces instead of by distance. Also it can be played on a rectangular blacktop area with chalk or paint outlines. Popularity in the United States In the past, kickball was mostly considered a child's game in the United States, although recently many US cities have created kickball leagues for adults. Some US cities have multiple organized leagues for adults over 21 years of age. It gained prominence in the 1970s. Popularity outside the United States Kickball is popular among youth in South Korea. Known as balyagu [발야구 (foot-baseball)], it is a staple in PE classes within elementary schools. Kickball is referred to as Soccer-Baseball, Chinese Baseball or California Kickball in some parts of Canada. In Japan kickball is played by elementary school students and is known as キックベース(Kickbase). In England, the variation is often played in P.E. lessons in schools and is referred to as 'Football-Rounders', a mix of association football and rounders. A related sport of kickingball is also popular in South America, played by Venezuelan refugees in Argentina. See also Matball Baseball Leg cricket Baseball5 - baseball with only a ball, batters hit the ball with a hand References External links Baseball genres Ball games Sports originating in the United States