Circle Kick

Circle kick is the more common version of footbag, and it is the game people are referring to when they talk about "hacking the sack" (or any other variant on the term "hacky sack"). In this game, players stand in a circle, do tricks with the footbag, and keep it moving around the circle. A 'hack' is achieved when every person in the circle contributes a kick.

Variations on Circle Kick

Peg

In one variation, commonly called peg or Cali, a number of kicks is chosen. After that many successful kicks are made, whoever catches the footbag may throw it at, or peg, another player. If a player grabs the footbag before the predetermined number of kicks, any or all of the other players get a free "peg" on them.

Kill

In a very similar variation, called kill, a number of kicks is chosen; for example, two-hit kill uses two hits. Players try to make two consecutive hits, after which they can kick the footbag at another player. If the footbag hits the player, they are "killed" and out of the game. However, if the player successfully hits the footbag, the footbag is put back into play and the player is not out.

Kill differs from peg in that in kill, players have to make (for example) two consecutive hits by themselves before they can "kill" another player; in peg, all players contribute to this number. In both games, higher numbers of hits make the game more challenging.

Kill can also be played communitively, meaning that just one person doesn't have to make all the kicks and anyone can go for the kill. So for example in 3 hit, 3 different people can get a kick then after the third hit anyone can kick the footbag at any other person.

Blood

Blood is similar to peg or kill. After a predetermined number of kicks (often 5 or 7) the footbag is "live".

When the footbag is "live" it is kicked at another player. Whoever the footbag hits last before it hits the ground recieves one "out", even if this player is the one who kicked it (if they miss their target).

After a player has recieved the predetermined number of "outs" (usually 2 or 3 depending on the number of people playing) that player must leave the game.

The last player remaining wins the game.

Washington Rules

Another variant is commonly known as Washington Rules because it is commonly traced to the West Coast. In this version, when a player drops the footbag or errs in any other way, they must go to the middle of the circle. If they err again, all the other players are allowed to hit and kick them until they can break out of the circle. If another player drops the bag or otherwise errs, the player in the centre is allowed out and the latter player takes the middle position.

Guiltless Shred

Guiltless shred is an advanced game where players agree to take turns in a specific direction around the circle and only perform tricks above a 3 add rating. Players who perform...