Stickball

Stickball refers to two sports played on Alternia with balls and a stick, either similar to or inspired by eight-ball pool. Table stickball, much like pool, is played on a felt table by the Felt, who claim to have invented the game inspired by the colors and numbers of their hats. Arena stickball was played by trolls before the Reckoning. It is unclear which game inspired which, but likely that the pool-like nature of both games comes from Lord English's influence over the planet.

An imitation of arena stickball played on a table called recessed tabletop arena stickball (or simply tabletop arena stickball) also exists, though the rules are quite different.

A bat-and-ball game called stickball was also a favourite pasttime of Problem Sleuth's Churlish Toff, but it is unknown if this game is related.

Arena stickball

Xefros Tritoh in the uniform of an arena stickball pusher.

Arena stickball is a favorite hobby of Xefros Tritoh, who participated in the Outglut Grub League, taking 3rd place in one season, and hopes to join the greater Thrashthrust Junior League. Thrashthrust's team in the Alternian Pro Arena Stickball League is the Thrashthrust Snowglobes, for whom Xultan Matzos played.

Rules

As its name suggests, a game of arena stickball is played on a large field, called the "velvet" (possibly made of fabric much like a pool table), in two 11-hour halves.

Like many Earth team sports, an arena stickball team is made up of players with a variety of positions, each who play different roles in the game. Many of these positions seem designed to be played specifically or mostly by members of one specific caste. The known roles are as follows:

• The pusher is a role for telekinetics (largely rusts like Xefros, but also possibly some golds). The pusher is the game's stick user, using an implement similar to both a bat and a cuestick called a cuebat, and is the only member of the team allowed to score. Pusher is a dangerous position, considered the most likely to die, and is expected to use their power to commune with ghosts in order to communicate with other dead teammates.
• The wrangler controls lususes, likely being a position for bronzebloods with the power of animal communion.
• The zapper "blasts" opponents, likely with the powers of a goldblood.
• The prowler behaves in an animalistic way, possibly intended for wild members of the olive caste.
• The controller controls other players, likely with the psychic abilities sometimes found in members of the blue caste.
• The brawler defends the pusher. The brawler on Xefros' team is an indigoblood, but this role may or may not be specific to indigobloods.

Much like table stickball or pool, a game of arena stickball involves fifteen scoring balls (and one non-scoring ball much like a cue ball) in play at one time. Much like the Felt, each ball is a different size and has its own behaviors and effects, in some way related to the powers of the associated Felt member. The known balls are as follows:

• The dozer, named for Doze, causes players who touch it to fall asleep.
• The tracer, named for Trace, follows the path it took in the prior game.
• The clover, named for Clover, possibly takes some luck to hit.
• The finisher, named for Fin, can only move on a predetermined path to either side's goal.
• The snowball, named after Snowman, is listed in Xefros' Flarp manual as having the highest power level of all of them.
• The stitcher, named for Stitch, is actually a ball of yarn which is unraveled when the game starts and must be rolled back up again before it can be scored with.
• The matchtip, named for Matchsticks, is covered in flames.
• The white man on the moon ball, named for Doc Scratch, does not score and cannot be struck with the pusher's cuebat, in much the same way a cue ball cannot be scored with in pool.

As with all things Alternian, participating in arena stickball can be quite deadly. Weapons and lususes on the velvet are all parts of the game; there are, however, still strict rules regarding these game elements, with improvised weapons and the feeding of these lususes both being forbidden.

Merchandise

Xefros is in possession of a trophy resembling the man on the moon ball, awarded for winning third place in an Arena Stickball league.^{[citation needed]}

Bobblehead figurines heavily resembling Funko's POP vinyl line and other kinds of figurines have been produced in the likeness of some players, as with posters. Xefros is also in possession of a vault themed after the sport, which the user must unlock by guiding the icon of a stickball player through a maze filled with black insectoid creatures. It is unknown how closely this resembles the actual sport.

Arena Stickball Illustrated is a magazine dedicated to the sport, to which Xefros is also subscribed.