While the rules of trashcan are becoming more refined, there’s always room for play variation. We've had a little fun with it so far.
As the game grows more popular, we've found a few effective ways to handle the high numbers of enthusiastic participants.
Trashcan takes at least six people to play. Two teams of three. When starting out a pickup game, when six people show up, you’re good to go. The game is played to 5 points. As more players show up, one is added to each team at the same time. Once the teams grow to 6v6 the game errs on the side of too crowded and the flow of play is not at its maximum potential.
Twelve players are split into 3 teams of four. Two of the teams play to a score of 2. When the game is over, the winning team is granted a brief rest and continues to stay on the field and play the team that was previously sitting out. Even if teams are not perfectly evenly matched, the team that has been on for awhile will continue to tire and eventually be beaten. Adding more players should ideally be done in groups of three, one to each team, however, as long as the teams playing have equal numbers, play resumes just as normal.
When 16 or 20 players are present, switching gears to four teams is a good way to preserve the intensity of the game. The overall goal is to keep teams at 3v3 - 5v5 while also keeping players off the sidelines for long periods of time. To fix this, going 4v4 with 16 players or 5v5 with 20 players in teams of four will allow for quick play. The games are only played to 1 point, at which point the scoring team resumes the end of the field in which they recently scored on and almost immediately throw off. They are given little rest due to the fact that two other teams are resting while they are playing. This is sometimes referred to as “one and done”.
At 20 or more players, the dynamic begins to get a bit interesting. Since the goal is to keep players off the sidelines and have no more than 5 per team, a majority of the time it is best to find or bring out a second set of trash cans to the field.
For example, let’s say you have 25 players and two fields; five teams of 5 will work perfectly. While teams 1+2 and 3+4 face off, the fifth team is charged with keeping time. Eight minutes is usually an appropriate amount of time to determine a victor. One of the two fields will be designated as a winner’s field. When the 1st round ends, the team that won on both fields will stay put while the losing teams will shift down one field. The team that was keeping time for the games will then be inserted onto the winner’s field. The idea is that the team at the top field will be required to play a fresh team every game. Also, every team coming off the bench is guaranteed a minimum of two games before potentially being forced off again by two consecutive losses. However, any team with enough effort can play as long as they can handle, granted they keep winning. The team sitting out every round is responsible for holding games to eight minutes.
In the event of a tie after eight minutes of play, the game is momentarily paused for teams to decide (1-5) whom will be stepping off and when. The game then quickly resumes with 1 person from each team removed. After every consecutive minute, another player from each team is seamlessly removed without play stopping. The game is golden goal.
For additional intensity, during the onset of a tie-breaking situation, play does not stop whatsoever at the end of eight minutes. The player being removed is selected by the opposing team on-the-fly at the start of a tie-breaker and after every minute.
The above system functions with 3 fields of simultaneous play also. If you love the game of trashcan, it is a sight to behold.
As the game grows more popular, we've found a few effective ways to handle the high numbers of enthusiastic participants.
Trashcan takes at least six people to play. Two teams of three. When starting out a pickup game, when six people show up, you’re good to go. The game is played to 5 points. As more players show up, one is added to each team at the same time. Once the teams grow to 6v6 the game errs on the side of too crowded and the flow of play is not at its maximum potential.
Twelve players are split into 3 teams of four. Two of the teams play to a score of 2. When the game is over, the winning team is granted a brief rest and continues to stay on the field and play the team that was previously sitting out. Even if teams are not perfectly evenly matched, the team that has been on for awhile will continue to tire and eventually be beaten. Adding more players should ideally be done in groups of three, one to each team, however, as long as the teams playing have equal numbers, play resumes just as normal.
When 16 or 20 players are present, switching gears to four teams is a good way to preserve the intensity of the game. The overall goal is to keep teams at 3v3 - 5v5 while also keeping players off the sidelines for long periods of time. To fix this, going 4v4 with 16 players or 5v5 with 20 players in teams of four will allow for quick play. The games are only played to 1 point, at which point the scoring team resumes the end of the field in which they recently scored on and almost immediately throw off. They are given little rest due to the fact that two other teams are resting while they are playing. This is sometimes referred to as “one and done”.
At 20 or more players, the dynamic begins to get a bit interesting. Since the goal is to keep players off the sidelines and have no more than 5 per team, a majority of the time it is best to find or bring out a second set of trash cans to the field.
For example, let’s say you have 25 players and two fields; five teams of 5 will work perfectly. While teams 1+2 and 3+4 face off, the fifth team is charged with keeping time. Eight minutes is usually an appropriate amount of time to determine a victor. One of the two fields will be designated as a winner’s field. When the 1st round ends, the team that won on both fields will stay put while the losing teams will shift down one field. The team that was keeping time for the games will then be inserted onto the winner’s field. The idea is that the team at the top field will be required to play a fresh team every game. Also, every team coming off the bench is guaranteed a minimum of two games before potentially being forced off again by two consecutive losses. However, any team with enough effort can play as long as they can handle, granted they keep winning. The team sitting out every round is responsible for holding games to eight minutes.
In the event of a tie after eight minutes of play, the game is momentarily paused for teams to decide (1-5) whom will be stepping off and when. The game then quickly resumes with 1 person from each team removed. After every consecutive minute, another player from each team is seamlessly removed without play stopping. The game is golden goal.
For additional intensity, during the onset of a tie-breaking situation, play does not stop whatsoever at the end of eight minutes. The player being removed is selected by the opposing team on-the-fly at the start of a tie-breaker and after every minute.
The above system functions with 3 fields of simultaneous play also. If you love the game of trashcan, it is a sight to behold.