HORSE Basketball Rules: How to Play the Shooting Game

HORSE basketball rules: how many play, setting the order, calling a shot, copying it, taking letters, who calls next, the shorter PIG game and HORSE in practice.

HORSE is a called-shot elimination game in which one player calls and makes a shot, the next players must copy it or take a letter, and a player who spells H-O-R-S-E is out, and this page sets out the rules, the two ways groups handle the next call, and how coaches use it in practice.

HORSE basketball rules fit in a few lines. One player calls a shot and makes it. Every player after him must make the same shot. A player who misses the copy takes a letter, first H, then O, R, S and E, and a player who spells the whole word is out. The last player left wins. HORSE can be played by two or more players of any age, in a driveway or a gym, with no coach or referee. The game rules for real basketball are on basketball rules for beginners.

Call the shot before you shoot it: the kind of shot, the hand, the spot and whether it goes off the backboard. Only a make that matches the call counts, and a letter comes from missing a copy.

HORSE Basketball Rules, Step by Step

Players. Two or more.
Order. Pick a shooting order. One way is for each player to shoot a free throw to decide who goes first, second and so on.
The call. The first player calls a shot from anywhere on the court and takes it.
The copy. If he makes it, the next player in order must make the same shot from the same spot. Then the next player, and so on around the group.
A letter. A player who misses the copy takes a letter.
Out. A player with all five letters, H-O-R-S-E, is eliminated.
The winner. The last player still in the game wins.

HORSE basketball rules diagram of a player shooting a free throw while three players wait beyond the arc to set the shooting order

Setting the order. One way is a free throw each: 1 shoots while 2, 3 and 4 wait their turn, and the order of makes sets who calls the first shot.

Calling a Shot

The shooter names the shot before he takes it, for example "lefty hook, left elbow, off the glass." The call sets what the next players must copy: the type of shot, the hand, the spot and whether the ball goes off the glass.

Kids often invent wild shots, such as spins, fadeaways and hook shots. That is part of the game. HORSE is played for fun, and shooting form is not the point of it. Form is taught elsewhere, on basketball shooting form.

HORSE basketball rules diagram of a player shooting from the left elbow after calling the shot

The called shot. 1 calls his shot before he takes it, for example a lefty hook off the glass from the left elbow, and makes it.

Letters and Getting Out

Letters go in order. The first miss is an H, the second an O, then R, S and E. A player who spells HORSE is out. A miss on a fresh call is not a letter. The letter comes from missing a copy, and in the version below that includes the caller's own repeat.

What happens when every player makes the copy is a point where groups differ. In one version, if all the other players make it, the player who called it must make it again, and he can take a letter himself if he misses.

HORSE basketball rules diagram of the next player shooting the same shot from the same spot at the left elbow

The copy. 2 must make the same shot from the same spot. If he misses, he takes a letter, starting with H.

Who Calls the Next Shot

This is the rule that changes most from group to group, so settle it before the first shot.

Version	After a missed copy	After the caller misses his own shot
Next in line calls	The player after the one who missed calls a new shot from anywhere	The next player in order calls a shot
Caller keeps control	The caller stays in control while he keeps making, and may move to another spot and call again	The next player gets control only by making a shot after the caller has missed

Under the next-in-line version, if 2 makes the copy and 3 misses it, 3 takes a letter and 4 calls the next shot.

HORSE basketball rules diagram of a player calling a new shot from the right corner after a teammate missed and took the letter H

The next call. 2 made the copy and 3 missed it and took an H, so 4, the next player in order, calls a new shot from anywhere, here the right corner.

PIG and Other Short Versions

With little time or a lot of players, shorten the word. PIG is the same game with three letters, so players go out after three missed copies. One version lets the group pick any animal, so the game can be PIG, HORSE or ELEPHANT, and the length of the word sets the length of the game.

Other shooting games played the same way, with no coach and any number of players, include around the world, where each player works through a set of spots around the arc, and knockout. More are on fun basketball games.

HORSE in Practice

Coaches use HORSE and PIG as a shooting game inside practice as well as at home. One setup breaks the team into groups, one group to a basket, and runs the game at every basket at once, a setup covered on basketball practice drills for youth. It is often run next to other shooting games, such as a nine-spot golf game where each player counts the shots it takes to make each spot, and around the world.

Like most driveway shooting games, HORSE rewards accuracy and consistency more than athletic ability, which is why players of very different ages, and parents, can play it together. For shooting work with a score attached, see basketball shooting drills, basketball drills and games for kids and free throw shooting.

Questions People Ask

What are the rules of HORSE in basketball?

Players take turns in a set order. One player calls and makes a shot, and each player after him must make the same shot or take a letter. The letters spell H-O-R-S-E, a player with all five is out, and the last player left wins.

Do you get a letter if you miss your own called shot?

Not for a fresh call. When the caller misses, the next player calls a shot, or in the caller-keeps-control version the next player must make a shot to take over. In the version where everyone makes the copy, the caller must make it again or take a letter.

How many people can play HORSE?

Two or more. With a big group, play the shorter PIG, or split into groups at several baskets.

What is the difference between HORSE and PIG?

Only the length of the word. PIG has three letters, so the game ends sooner.

Can you call any shot in HORSE?

Yes, any shot from anywhere on the court, as long as you call it before you shoot. Name the hand, the spot and whether it goes off the backboard so the copy is clear.

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