Three players (a parent counts, a sibling counts double). Two keep the ball; one hunts it. Intercept it — not a deflection, a catch — and you swap with whoever lost it. Space: three to five big steps apart.
The game coaches itself: keep it and you’re learning angles, lose it and you’re learning pressure. Turn the dial with rounds:
round 1 — free touches. settle in, keep it moving. round 2 — two-touch. control, then release. no dwelling. round 3 — one-touch (or two if it collapses). now it’s all scanning — you must know your pass before the ball arrives. round 4 — weak foot only. the pass counts only off the weak foot. laughing is allowed and likely.
Count your best unbroken streak out loud — beating your own record is the score that matters.
progression. shrink the space before you speed the rule. a fourth player makes it 3v1 (easier) or 2v2 (much harder) — both are gold.
background: the pickup game counts double