To play dodge ball, you will need 2 teams with 6 to 10 players each.  Only 6 players are on the court at a time, the rest are substitutes.  Substitutes can switch with players during a timeout, or to replace an injured player. 
 
You can play indoors or outdoors on a field the size of a volleyball field – approx 60 feet by 30 feet, with a dividing line in the middle of the court.   If possible, use 6 official dodge balls, which is rubber coated and 8 ¼ inches.  If you want to play dodge ball at the beach, you can use soft beach balls so it doesn’t hurt as much when it touches bare skin.  (If you don’t have 6 balls – play with as many as you have.)

To win the game, you have to eliminate all the players on the other team.   You can keep playing until this happens, or make a 3 minute rule.  After 3 minutes, the game is over and the team with the most players remaining – wins.   You can do this by hitting a player with the ball below the shoulders (no head shots).   Another way to get an out is to catch a ball an opponent throws at you before it hits the ground.  The player that threw the ball is then out.  In both cases, the ball must not have touched the ground, another ball, wall or player before it hits or is caught by a player. 

You have to stay within the boundary lines unless you are retrieving a stray ball. You start the game by placing the 6 dodge balls along the center line –3 on one side of the center and 3 on the other. Players must wait behind their end line until they hear the signal to start.  Then the teams may go to the centerline to retrieve the balls, but may only retrieve the 3 balls on their side. Once you get a  ball, you have to take it behind  the attack-line before you can throw it.  If you are playing in the sand, mark your center line and mark a line equally far back on each side as your attack line.