Four Square is the best playground pastime

"There is soooo much arguing in two square, its not even funny. The person that gets out is so convinced he is safe that he will not leave. Even if he does leave, it could lead to resentment among the other players." Did you mean, the person who was currently in square #2, or the game "Two Square" itself? I never brought up the concept of this separate game in our argument, and personally believe it to be boring. Even so, if you were talking about square #2, I have found it no different than getting out in squares 1, 3, or 4 and facing a controversial call. Back to nine square. You argue that this has less of a line, giving you more playing time, and is therefore better. I disagree on a few reasons; one is that more participation in the game is not necessarily better if it is hard to be involved on most plays, for I find it extremely hard to believe that the ball comes to you as often as it does in four square due to the five extra number of squares. Pros of the line are that it not only gives you a chance to regroup from your out, but to plan and strategize your next round in. It also lets the game become a spectator sport, as one can truly appreciate special moves from afar than while in the middle of playing, with your head in the game. Just like in pro sports; it always looks better on the instant replay. A line also gives you the simple luxuries of chatting with fellow players, and merely taking a rest from the intesity of the game. Four square also would appear to move faster than nine square, with more players rotating in at a time, giving everyone a taste of everyone's talents. I have, indeed gotten a bloody nose. And yes, it has hurt. And yes, it is an utmost pain in the neck to have to hold your head back with your nostrils shut until the blood stops gushing. But no, I have never witnenssed anyone come close to the injuries of a bloody nose in the game of four square. I'll say it before and I'll say it again, a few minor knee scrapes and one or two jammed fingers from hitting the ball is the worst, the very worst, I have ever seen. I believe that you perseverate too much on the supposed dangers of four square to truly appreciate it. Your argument of how internationally-known four square is is a worthy one. I can honestly say I do not know how involved every child in the USA is in four square, but I can assure you that many, roughly 80%, have knowledge of the game itself. I doubt that children in North Korea, Bolivia, and Seychelles consider four square a great pastime not because of its lack of popularity, but because each county has its own pastimes and childhood games it plays. Here is an excerpt from an site regarding Traditional Children's Games: Vivien Yoshikawa from Brazil During my childhood, I liked to play a games called Quemada because in this game you are always moving. This game is famous in my country. You can play it from your childhood until your adult life, and it doesn't have an age limit or a limit of players. How to play Queimada To play this game, you form two teams. Each team has a field and there is a place called the cemetery. One person from each team starts in the cemetery, so he's dead. The rest of the team starts in the field. The person who is at the cemetery always starts the game by throwing a ball to the opposite side where his partners are. The "living people" from this team have to catch the ball and throw it against the other team. If someone from the opposite team touches the ball, he is burnt, so he is dead. The "dead ones" go to the cemetery, and the game finishes when every "living person" from one team dies. I played this game a lot when I was around eight years old. I would call all my friends, and we would spend all afternoon long playing! Don't deny it, we both know we have never heard of the game Queimada. However, based on our lack of knowledge, it is considered to be a beloved and treasured game in Brazil. This proves that each country has its own childhood pastimes, whether they be on the playground or off. Back to your argument. You say that other countries would have no knowledge of four square or consider it a childhood pastime. This is true, to my knowledge. However, most of the children in the USA know it, and is considered one of the most beloved pastimes here. Until you notified me of it, however, I had no knowledge whatsoever of the game "Nine square". Okay, I cannot always go off of what I know, and proceeded to look it up on www.wikipedia.org. I neglected to find an article on it there, the next most revelant topic being, in all seriousness, "List of Australian television series". As we all know, wikipedia is a publicly edited website, and not every single fact, much less every single game, is noted in there. I proceeded to look it up on multiple search engines, such as www.google.com, www.ask.com, www.yahoo.com, and www.altavista.com. Nothing at all concerning your pastime came up as a result. If I have never heard of it, and the internet has never heard of it, then most of American children have never heard of it, much less foreign countries around the world. My point? Four square is no less known than nine square, and based on its popularity is enjoyed and known of by more, therefore making it more of a pastime. Now that I am done discussing nine square, I'd like to move solely back onto the topic of this debate: four square. I have said earlier that four square has bonded my classmates and I together, that we play with intensity, our lines are short, it is game to be enjoyed by both genders, and overall has been a vital part of my childhood. I came to the thought that you might believe I am making this up to prove my point. However, I have legitimate proof of how important four square is to me, and I would like to share it with you personally: http://vids.myspace.com... http://vids.myspace.com... http://vids.myspace.com... These three videos are my classmates and I playing four square as we do every recess. I implore you to watch them would greatly enjoy your feedback. Note: The second video is titled "Attack of the Femmes", referring to the playing of the girls in our four square game that day. We do not discriminate against them and thoroughly enjoy them in our games, we were merely teasing them. Our games are unisex, have always been, and always will be. I await your rebuttal.