Ultimate Frisbee is a great activity to keep you in shape and tap into your competitive spirit. But it’s not the only way to play games with Frisbees! No matter where you are playing or what you are looking for – games on grass, at the beach, with kids, or Frisbee games for adults – there are a ton of great ways to play games with a Frisbee.
After playing fun Ultimate Frisbee games for over a decade (often misspelled Frizbee games, Frisbie games, Frisbe game, or Frisby game), and researching new games online, I’ve created a curated list of the best Frisbee games to play, by taking out all the boring games, like Frisbee Tic-Tac-Toe. Here are the top 7 games with Frisbees you can play!
Kan Jam
Kan Jam is one of the extremely fun games to play with Frisbees. The game is played on two teams, who stand across from one another. Each team has a special Kan Jam black bucket in front of them – kind of like a garbage can, but with a slot in the middle. Teams alternate throwing the Frisbee back and forth, trying to land the Frisbee in the bucket, or even throw it through the slot! The fun part about Kan Jam comes with your partner. Your partner can deflect the Frisbee you throw into the bucket, to help score points. 1 point is scored by hitting the bucket with a deflection, and 2 points for hitting the bucket without a deflection. 3 points are scored by deflecting the Frisbee to land in the bucket.
You can even win the game instantly by throwing the Frisbee through the slot! This feat, for some reason, is called a “Chog.”
The best part about Kan Jam is it’s relatively cheap, and can be played as a Frisbee yard game! I was at a wedding a few years ago, and met another couple who loved this game. Despite years and years of Ultimate Frisbee experience, my partner and I lost to the couple, game after game, of Kan Jam. Check out the video below for more details on how to play!
Disc Golf
Disc Golf is loved by hundreds of thousands of Ultimate Frisbee players around the world! While it’s not something you can easily set up in your yard, there are Disc Golf (sometimes referred to as “Frolf”) courses all over the place, including many schools and public parks.
Disc Golf is played just like regular golf, but with special disc golf Frisbees. You can use other types of Frisbees (like a Discraft 175 gram), but disc golf Frisbees are built specifically so that they survive lots of use. If you are interested, I suggest buying a starter kit of disc golf discs and finding a disc golf course near you.
While the general idea of throwing a Frisbee is similar between both Ultimate Frisbee and Disc Golf, the specific way to throw a Disc Golf Frisbee, and how the Frisbee flies through the air, is quite different from Ultimate Frisbee. Both games are quite fun, but it is important to recognize that you’ll likely be using different throwing styles when you play Disc Golf or Ultimate Frisbee.
Cups
Cups is another of the fun games to play with Frisbees, and it is similar, but cheaper, to Kan Jam. Like Kan Jam, two teams will stand opposite each other. However, instead of the black Kan Jam container, the teams will be standing behind two driveway marker poles, with a red solo cup on top of each.
The gameplay is simple. Taking turns, the disc is thrown at the poles. If the disc passes between the poles without touching the poles or cups, the throwing team gets 3 points. If the disc hits a pole or cup and a cup is knocked off and hits the ground, the throwing team gets 1 point per cup. Teams can be warned for throwing too fast. The fun part of the game comes with the defense. The team not throwing the disc can play defense! If a cup is knocked off the pole, the defensive team can catch the cup before it hits the ground to prevent the throwing team from getting a point. Alternatively, the defensive team can attempt to catch the cup with a single hand (or knock the cup to a teammate to catch with a single hand), for them to score a point themselves!
Cups are super fun, athletic, and enjoyable, especially on the beach, or as a Frisbee yard game.
Goaltimate
Goaltimate is another variation on Ultimate Frisbee and one of the most popular games with Frisbees. Lots of teams play goaltimate as a brief warmup before practice (or even tournament games), and there are several goaltimate leagues across the country.
Ultimate is played with all the normal Ultimate Frisbee rules, with a few exceptions. First, instead of having two endzones, there is only 1. Instead of a full endzone, the endzone is shaped as a half-circle, with a full goal hoop (11 feet high and 18 feet wide) built on the front end of the half-circle. To score, a team must throw a disc through the front of the hoop, and the receiver must catch the disc inside the half-circle endzone. There is no out-of-bounds, and stalls can be called from anywhere on the field. If there is a turnover, the team taking possession must “take back” the disc across the midline, similar to the rule of half-court basketball.
Goaltimate is a very fun game to play, and requires slightly different skills and strategy than Ultimate Frisbee. If you are interested, here is a list of equipment needed to play Ultimate.
You can also learn more about Goaltimate at the wikipedia link here, or from the video below.
Hot Box
Hot Box is one of the fun games with Frisbees that can be played in a small, 10×10 area. To play hotbox, all receivers stand somewhere in a 10×10 area (usually marked out using field cones). A thrower stands 10-20 yards away. Similar to the playground game “500”, the thrower throws the disc relatively high, towards the players in the 10×10 area.
Receivers then have a decision to make. If they think they can catch the Frisbee, they move and try to catch it. However, if a receiver tries to catch the Frisbee and another player catches it instead, they are “out”. They go and stand about 5 feet to the side of the 10×10 area. There, they can keep on playing! They can only move once someone inside the box moves – but, when they do, if they catch the Frisbee, all players who are “out” get to resume back inside the box.
A receiver “wins” the round if they are the final player remaining inside the 10×10 area, or if they have caught the Frisbee 5 times without being “out.” Check out the video below to learn more about Hot Box.
Frisbee Freeze Tag
Frisbee Freeze Tag is often seen as a game for children – but it is one of the surprisingly fun Frisbee games for adults to play! To play Frisbee Freeze Tag, you’ll need a space about the size of an Ultimate Frisbee Endzone (20’ x 40’), and lots of Frisbees.
In Frisbee Freeze Tag, one or two people are designated as the “taggers” (though you can change the terminology to match your audience). The taggers will have a Frisbee in each hand, and their job is to run around the endzone, trying to tag as many others as they can.
Anyone not a tagger will run around the endzone, trying to avoid being tagged. If someone gets tagged, they need to grab a Frisbee, return to the place they were tagged, and stay frozen in place (optionally, they can keep a single pivot foot). From the place they are frozen, they try and reach out and tag anyone else that has not yet been tagged, with the Frisbee. The last person to avoid being tagged wins!
Frisbee Dodgeball
Just a quick note – Frisbee Dodgeball can be a bit dangerous, so be careful!
Frisbee Dodgeball is just what it sounds like – dodgeball but with Frisbees! Two teams will each work to throw Frisbees at the opposing teams. If a player tries to catch a Frisbee but drops it, they are out! The team with the last player standing wins!
Frisbee Dodgeball is interesting because both teams are trying to catch Frisbees, usually thrown at high speeds. This is an incredibly challenging, and sometimes painful, skill to learn. There is another game, called GUTS, that has a similar setup – but instead of the free-for-all nature of dodgeball, the players stand in a line in a more structured catching game.