King of the court: rules that actually work

King of the court is the format that makes a random Tuesday feel like a tournament: winners climb toward Court 1, losers slide down, and everyone plays people near their level within three rounds — no ratings needed, the ladder sorts itself.

The rules

Setup. Rank your courts: Court 1 is the throne. Fill courts with pairs (draw numbers for the first round).

Games. Timed 8 minutes or first to 7, win by 1 — short games are what make the ladder churn.

Movement. Winners up one court, losers down one. Winners on the throne stay; losers on the bottom court stay.

Partners. Decide up front and announce: fixed partners all night (simple), or split winning pairs on the throne (social — prevents one team camping).

Odd players. Extras queue at the bottom court and rotate in for the sitters — nobody waits more than one short game.

Common failure modes

Long games stall the whole ladder — keep them short and rotate all courts on one whistle. Uneven skill at start fixes itself: give it three rounds before re-seeding anything. Score disputes die when someone (or something) records results the moment each game ends.

Or let Get4th run it

Get4th texts each player their starting court, then their next court after every round, and keeps the night's standings. The organizer gets to actually hold a paddle. $15/month covers 30 court reservations. That's 50¢ a game — about 6¢ per player, per hour.

Questions

How many players do I need for king of the court?

Any multiple of 4 fills courts exactly (8, 12, 16); extras rotate in at the bottom court. It works from 6 players on 2 courts.

Timed games or points?

Timed (7–10 min) keeps all courts synchronized and is what most groups settle on. First-to-7 works if your courts finish at similar speeds.

Do winners keep partners on the throne?

Your choice — announce it before round one. Keeping partners rewards teams; splitting them keeps the night social and stops camping.

Try it on your real group

30 days and 5 full courts free. No card, and your players never install anything.

$15/month covers 30 court reservations. That's 50¢ a game — about 6¢ per player, per hour.

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