My new neighbor is very clever.

[Major Hogwash]

69. A game called H-O-R-S-E

It's a great game.
Girls and boys can both play horse.
The game is played by shooting at the basket from different spots on the driveway.
Everyone gets to take turns taking a shot at the basket, from any spot on the driveway, until someone makes a basket.

A round starts when the first player makes a basket.
The first player to make a basket is the lead player of that round, who starts off all of the next rounds until he misses a basket.
When the lead player makes a basket, all of the other opponents in the game have to shoot from that same spot on the driveway.
All players are active in the first round.
All players get a shot at the basket from that same spot on the driveway.

If the opponents to the lead player make the basket, they remain active in that round.
If the opponents to the lead player don't make the basket, they are out of that round of the game.

A round ends when all of the opponents to the lead player have missed their shots at the basket, OR the lead player misses a basket.

If the lead player of that round makes a basket, then all of the other opponents still active in that round have to shoot from that same spot.
The lead player of each round is the player that chooses the spot on the driveway where he or she will shoot his basket from to keep the round going.
Opponents to the lead player of that round that miss their basket are inactive for the rest of that round and have to wait for a new round to start.

After the first round is finished and everyone has taken their shot at making a basket, the lead player of the round can shoot the next basket from the same spot on the driveway, or choose to move to a different spot on the driveway.
In either case, the opponents to the lead player have to make the next basket in order to stay active in the round, whether it is from a new spot on the driveway or the same spot on the driveway.

Shooting continues in the round until the lead player misses a basket, which means that a new round has to be started by everyone else taking turns to make a shot in the basket.
Active players go first, then inactive players that were bounced out of that particular round, then finally the lead player of the last round gets a chance to make a basket if no one else has made a basket yet.

A new round doesn't start until a player makes a basket.
All players are considered active when trying to start a new round.
There are no penalities for any player missing a basket if a round hasn't been started yet.
All players get a turn to make a basket until someone makes a basket to start a new round.
There are no "do overs".
No excuses for poor shots are acceptable.
Whining is prohibited.

If the lead player makes a basket every time in the round, and all of the opponents still active in that round missed the last basket that the lead player made, the lead player of that round gets a letter.
Starting with the letter "H", letters are awarded one at a time.
And then subsequent letters are added until a player can spell out the word "horse".
The first player to be able to spell "horse" wins the game.

After receiving a letter, the lead player starts a new round.

A game can consist of many rounds, and take up to an hour or two to complete.
A round can consist of many shots made in a row by the lead player and can take as long as an hour, if the lead player is good or lucky, or both.
There is no 2nd place for any player having the letters h,o,r,and s.
It's winner take all, and only the player who can spell "horse" wins.
Therefore, there is only 1 winner possible for each game of horse.
So, there are no disputes over who won each game of horse.
Many games can be played each day.

Style matters when people are being sticky about the rules, which my friends always were when I was growing up, and so I am as well, to this very day.
A hook shot made by the lead player, who started the round, has to be made by a hook shot by the other opponents in the game. Not just from the same spot on the driveway where the basket was made.
A left-handed shot made by the lead player has to be made left-handed by everyone still active in the round, even if everyone in the game is right-handed.
An underhanded foul shot, ala Wilt the Stilt, made by the lead player has to be shot by all of the other opponents in the game the same way.

Any number of players can play.
But, the game plays out the best if it is limited to 5 players.
If 6 players are available, it's more fun to play a 3-on-3 game of basketball.
If 7 players are available, put the 2 tallest players on opposing teams, and then play a 3-on-4 game of basketball.

That's how I killed almost every day that it didn't rain in the summertime when I was growing up until they built a pool close enough to my home for me to ride my bike to.
Because my mom would not let me ride my bike farther than a mile from the house, or else I might see where the rich people live, and would never come back.