WhirlyBall was invented in the 1960s in Utah. Although it’s a competitive sport with organized leagues, it’s probably most often played for entertainment for birthday parties and corporate team-building events.
In order to play, a group of 10 people is divided into two teams. Each player drives a Whirlybug (basically a bumper car) and carries a scoop. The goal is to pass the whiffle ball to your teammates, advance up the court, and score a “Whirlic” by throwing the ball onto a circle on a basketball board. You’re not allowed to ram into a car from behind, but other than that, there are very few rules! A referee will narrate your experience and keep track of the score. When we played, we heard a lot of “loose ball!” announcements. (We could probably stand to hone our skills a bit more!)
At first, navigating the Whirlybug can be a bit tricky. Instead of a steering wheel, you steer the car with a handle that looks like a crank. You point the handle in the direction you want to go. One of the things that makes this game pretty silly is that there are no brakes. You can’t help but bump into something! In order to reverse, you have to wind the crank through one full rotation. It can be a little tricky to get the hang of how to reverse, but after a few minutes of play, it’s pretty natural.