DONUTBALL: Portable Throwing + Catching Yard-Beach-Pool Game

DONUTBALL is a sweet new throwing, sinking, & catching game perfect for Tailgates, Tea Parties, BBQs, Mosh Pits, Flotillas, Beach Days, School Field Trips, Fraternity Parties, Medians, Family Picnics, and every other type of gathering or hangout that you could find yourself attending …or being required to attend. It’s great outdoors, indoors, and in the pool. And if you can get a set to Outer Space – we know that it will be most excellent there too. Oh, and it’s extra fun if you are drinking tasty beverages and/or eating real donuts!

DONUTBALL blends the best + least annoying parts of your favorite yard games, olympic sports, and bar competitions like Cornhole, Spikeball, Beer Die, Polish Horseshoes, Basketball, Beer Pong, and Rhythmic Gymnastics(?!?). And those big sprinkles? They really do create awesomely fun and random bounces!

DONUTBALL can also be rules-adjusted based on your vibe – do you prefer a chill backyard / tailgate game (standard) or a quick paced intense, timed competition today (see the alternate rules)?

Choose One or All of the Above:

• You just never know when you might need to squash lurking complacency & boredom with an awesome YARD GAME!
• You love games, sports, and competition, and want to try a new challenge. 
• You put on and/or go to one or many BBQs, pool parties, ski weekends, tailgates, July 4th getdowns, beach trips, or block parties every year and this game will take the get-together to a whole new level.
• You have kids, younger cousins, nieces, and/or fraternity brothers that need something new and captivating to do with their hands & brains to help keep them off the “screens” ie the “zombiefying death spiral known as the iPad“.
• You want to work on your hand-eye coordination & reaction time (know any goalies?).
• You want the latest, coolest thing to win the party, impress someone sexy, & vanquish your foes.
• You want to support a bootstrapped, passionate entreprenuer that has a dream!

Why Donutball Wins

Do you have it? It’s plaguing millions of Americans and we are here help. 

We knew there could be an elevated game and just had to keep trying more ideas. We finally had a lightbulb moment and arrived on the Donutball concept. We knew it was just right when it fit all of our requirements to be different, and yet feel familiar, in all these tasty ways:

1. Feels familiar, fun, and easy to understand for all ages, blending the best parts of other games.

2. Only needs about 10 feet of space and can be played almost anywhere – outdoors & indoors (especially on rainy days & in the winter), and even in a tight space like on a patio or a man dave, ie future playroom. Uses indoor balls (foam) and outdoor (tennis-like) to cater to the space.

3. Can be easily played in the pool (and ponds, rivers, etc) with the same setup.

4. Involves tossing and catching a ball with unexpected bounces (which is rare in games like Cornhole, Kanjam, Spikeball, etc) and not a frisbee.

5. Can be packed up together easily, is light, and can be carried fairly simply.

6. Works on hand-eye coordination, quick reactions, body movement, spatial awareness, & catching and tossing skills for adults &kids …just like the NFL COMBINE?!?

7. Is great for drinking and partying AND also awesome if you have an aversion to alcohol and think parties are lame.

8. Is mostly a standing game (not bending over to pick up bags every time).

9. Can be height and rules adjusted easily for adults and kids  of all sizes. 
That’s a lot of requirements – jeesh.

What about pricing comparisons? 

• We are using high quality materials and have a lot of custom made and sourced components, including our robust aluminum telescoping poles.
• For cost, you should compare this to buying a CORNHOLE set (usually $200+) versus a $50 plastic yard game at a sporting goods store. 
• We have (2) Donut platforms per Full Set as compared to Spikeball (1 Net) and other games.

If you prefer CHARTS over lists, then you are in luck. This one has green Check Marks and red Xs. How original!

The Founder

Hello there. My name is Colin Campbell and I live in Arlington, VA. That is me on the left in the photo and my friend Scott in the back right. 

I invented DONUTBALL in April 2025 after creating many different types of games for parties, events, and friends’ weddings for oh so many years. But nothing quite stuck.

I own many yard games (Cornhole, Finska, Bocce Ball, Spikeball, Polish Horseshoes, Washers, Croquet, Lawn Dice, Washers, Ladder Golf, and more) and have played many others over the years. I do like most of them and I love variety (despite what the promo video may have told you …ha), but I felt something was missing. 

I also play / have played lots of sports (Hockey, Basketball, Ultimate Frisbee, Tennis, Golf, Water Polo, Soccer, Lacrosse etc) and wanted to incorporate elements of some of my favs. I have 7 and 10 year old daughters and I coach them in lots of sports; I wanted to make sure they could also enjoy Donutball and have fun with it with their friends – and they do!

But what is the real reason I want to do this? 

• It’s because I have always loved building community in many ways – getting people together to hang out, meet new friends, go to killer concerts & fun events, and try new challenges & endeavors. 
• This has come in many forms, from throwing great themed house parties, booking live concerts and running killer block parties, hosting poker nights, helping with the Annual PTA Auction, planning flag football and polish horseshoes tourneys (ran the LA one for 5 years!), to hosting an annual friends beach weekend running for over 20 years.
• I always try to incorporate games into these shindigs because I think it makes most situations more fun, engaging, and breaks the ice ….and I just love competition too much!
• And sometimes games just work better than conversations early on, as not everyone is great at small talk.

All of the Kickstarter funds raised will go towards:

1. Cost of Goods Sold

2. Sourcing, Shipping & Tariffs

3. Injection Molds & Setup Costs

4. Company Setup Costs (small amount)

5. Kickstarter % Fee & Campaign Marketing Costs (small amount)

NOTE: We are a bootstrapped little startup company and every dollar with help – Kickstarter will help us determine how sets to make / we can make for launch.

Please help us make the dream of DONUTBALL a reality. We appreciate your support,

   – Colin + the friends and family who have helped me get this far

OH, and even if you can’t support with $$$, but you have social channels and/or want to spread the word and invite friends who like games and/or donuts, please follow and add us at these wonderful soul consuming internet places:

Donutball Website   |   Instagram  |  Facebook  |  TikTok

[email protected]

For the standard rules, teams of one or two throw balls back and forth at donut-shaped platforms to score points by sinking shots into the 6″ diameter holes (3pts), bouncing balls off the other Donut and your opponent drops it (2pts), or catching airballs (1pt for defense). In 2v2, your partner stands at the opposite donut, like cornhole, and an opponent is next to you. We have been testing the game, tweaking the rules, and improving on prototypes with friends, family, and randos since April 2025. 

The standard & tournament rules are listed below, but we encourage house rules, alternate rules (see the section below for those), and creativity!

SCORING

• TOSS THE BALL IN THE HOLE (aka a “DONUTHOLE”) = 3 PTS
• TOSS IT OFF THE DONUT & OPPONENT DOESN’T CATCH IT = 2 PTS
• THROW AN AIRBALL & OPPONENT CATCHES IT = 1 PT FOR YOUR OPPONENT
• First team to score at or over 11 (short) or 21 (long) WINS. Exact score not needed.
• Adults must have something in one hand (ideally a tasty beverage or a donut) and catch with only one hand & their body. 
• Kids can generally use two hands, unless agreed upon otherwise.

THE SETUP

• 1v1 or 2v2. One player from each team stands behind each donut.
• The front of each Donut is approximately 8 Feet away each other. Can be adjusted a bit based on location. Tournaments will be 8ft.
• The Donut should be placed at least 40″ off the ground and generally at the average height of stomachs of the players. Kids can lower the donut down a foot or so to 32-36″ off the ground .
• We suggest using our special Donutball …balls (like tennis balls) for outside play, foam balls for inside play, and light-up balls for nighttime play. But it’s your choice what to use!

THROWING & CATCHING

• Each player throws one ball WITH AN ARC per round. No chucking the ball, no one wants that. It must be “catchable”.
• Players can throw from any angle on a straight line out from the back of the Donut – up to 5 feet wide or so.
• In 2v2, the teammate of the thrower must clear out of the way (at the other donut). If they get in the way of a bounce and affect the catcher’s abilities – no points are awarded for a drop.
• Opponents must let the ball reach the donut and can’t reach in front, ie NO goaltending. If they interfere with the throw, they get one mulligan, and then 3pts are awarded each time after that.
• THE FRONT ELEMENT: The ball must bounce up at least 3″ inches if it hits the front half of the donut and be “catchable”. It can’t hit the front of the donut and go straight to the ground and count. That is worth no points. You will see.
• Use spirit of the game and discretion when the bounce is questionable.

REBUTTALS

• OPTIONAL BUT ENCOURAGED: The losing team gets rebuttals after one team wins and both players finish their throw in that round (only that side).
• Then, each player on the losing team can keep tossing the ball until they miss – only landing the ball in the hole for 3pts each (no 2 or 1 pointers). They miss and it’s over or come back and force sudden death overtime.

What’s Included

NOTE: The final set will deliver with a green silicon rubber connector piece. Prototype photos and videos show a rubber velcro strap that we previously used. 

THE COMPONENTS: 

• The Donuts, Sprinkles, and Ball Joint Couplings are injected molded in high quality, durable ABS plastic in a factory that specializes in toys and games.
• The aluminum poles have strong, robust plastic clamps. They are custom made to fit inside the Donut. We decided to use these instead of plastic alternatives because they have more size, weight, and durability so the Donutball sets do not fall over or move easily – plus the telescoping usability with this material is much better.
• The balls, nets, and cases are highly quality and durable. They are sourced from factories that specialize in sports equipment. 
• The graphics are painted on and will not come off. The graphics feature vinyl stickers on the Donuts, which is an inferior solution.
• NOTE: The final set will deliver with a green silicon rubber connector piece, but protype photos and videos show a rubber velcro strap that we previously used. 

THE SIZE

• The Donut platforms are 16″ in Diameter x 3″ Tall with a 6″ diameter hole in the middle.
• When the two Donuts are snapped together – it creates a big round Donut (with sprinkles on both sides!) that is 16″ x 6″ – thanks math!
• The telescoping poles are in (5) sections and extend to up to 50″ long and condense to 15″.
• The game is designed so that everything, including all Add-Ons can fit into the 

REPLACEMENT PARTS

• If components of the game do break, we will have extra pieces to send you to fill out your game and you won’t need to buy a whole new set.
• There may be a cost, plus shipping, depending on how long you have had the set and how the issues occurred. 

BUT HOW DO YOU BEST TRANSPORT THIS GAME?

• The game is designed so that everything, including all Add-Ons can fit into the snapped-closed Donut and then you can put it into the canvas carrying case.
• Put one Donut on the ground and put the bag of poles & balls in the middle.
• Then put any other items / add ons in the sides of that bottom Donut.
• The, put the second Donut on top and the two Donuts snap together. The top one slides over to lock it in place. Kind of like a washers set.
• You can transport it like this or the better option is to put the entire double Donut right into it’s custom shaped travel bag.

Here is a mock-up of the Donuts snapped together and a CAD drawing of the two insides of the Donuts snapped together and sliding over!

The prototypes are not able to do this quite right so we don’t have a photo. The canvas carrying bag is not final – this is just a mock-up.

The Journey (Prototyping) 

I started messing around with wood pieces, platforms, PVC pipes, bug nets, dowels, and more. 

• I decided to cut out a sweet plywood playing platform that was a 16″ round diameter surface with a 6″ hole in the middle, put it about 42″ off the ground, and add 3″ wooden dowels on it to create weird bounces …and hot damn it looked just like a donut. And I like donuts, so that was the NAME.
• It just needed a little color UV printing, lazer cut baltic birch, and some 3D Printed sprinkes (thanks to a friend who has all of that in his garage) and DONUTBALL was born! 
• I tested it a lot, improved the materials and then worked with an awesome product designer friend (thanks Nick!) to come up with a plastic version that looked like a real big donut and could be injection molded to use with aluminum telescoping poles for commercialization.  
• I got the trademark, filed for a provisional utility patent, formed the LLC, and have spent oodles & oodles of time trying to source and get good pricing on all the Donutball components to make it affordable for all of you = BOO YAH!

ADD ONS are available to add to your REWARD TIER once you click on one and head towards checkout. You can add all of them!

FLOATING DONUTBALL

• Do you love the water? Now the pool, pond, ocean, river, large hot tub, and/or swamp are your battleground for Floating Donutball! 
• It’s a ton of fun to play with the same standard rules. The Donut stay up high off the water and the bounces are legit.
• These floaties resemble pool noodles (but are they?) and they slide into the rim of the Donuts.
• We have recently adjusted the design, so instead of one floatie that rims around the entire Donut, per these photos. We will have 4″ separate pre-cut pieces that will make it easier for transport and storage. 
• INCLUDED: (8) 4″ long floaties per full set – (4) for each Donut. 

PRO INSERTS (NOW A 4″ HOLE)

• Is the game too easy for you? Do you want a real challenge?
• Pop these cool inserts into the Donuts and now the hole is ONLY 4″ in diameter. The game plays a bit different.
• Or, if you are playing someone less experienced and want to give yourself a handicap to make it more even – pop one in only on the side you are throwing at.
• INCLUDED: (2) Pro Inserts are included – (1) for each Donut.

LIGHT UP DONUTBALL

• Light Up Donutball is amazing for the beach, the woods, a large dark closet, and any place where it’s dark and potentially spooky.
• Pop the light rings into the donut and hang the battery in the basketball net. It works well.
• INCLUDED: (2) 6″ diameter LED Light Rings w/ connected battery packs and (2) light up balls.

• We expect and encourage people to create house rules or make adjustmentst to make the game even more funkalishiss. We plan to learn from all you and evolve the game!
• Tournaments will be played with the Standard Rules.
• Visit our website and follow our Instagram page (and other socials) for examples of and rules for alternate versions. 
   
• SPEED DONUTBALL:
  – Set a timer for 3mins or another length.
  – Highest score at the end of time wins.
  – Throw 2 balls per round (even if 1v1).
  – If playing 2v2, both teammates at the same side of the donut. The other team works together to catch both balls.
  – You can’t throw both balls at the exact same time. Must have some delay.
  – Use two hands to catch. 
  – If you hold either ball for more than 5 seconds once you collect it, you forfeit it to the other team. 
• “RHODE ISLAND” PRO RULES:
  – Same as the standard rules, except….
  – Dropped balls of the bounce are worth ONLY 1 POINT (not two points).
  – This makes the emphasis more on sinking balls than catching bounce shots.
  – Games can take longer if people are not sinking shots. 
• DONUTBALL-PONG STYLE:
  – Same as the standard rules, except….
  – Teams of two play together at each donut and each throw a ball per round.
  – Opponents work together to catch both balls each round. Can deflect them to each other. 
  – You can’t throw both balls at the exact same time. Must have some delay.
  – Use one hand or two hands to catch, decide before game starts.
• TRIANGLE DONUTBALL
  – Buy an extra Donutbal platform (half-set) and set all three platforms in a triangle and play the same rules – but you don’t know which donut the thrower will throw towards. Be ready!
    
  MORE VERSIONS TO COME! Stay tuned and email us your ideas.

Launch Partners

This project is promoted by Jellop, the ad tech power behind the best Kickstarters with 3,500+ successful Kickstarter projects with over $1B raised between them.

This project is boosted by BackerCrew.

World Championships

• We will be hosting the FIRST ANNUAL WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS OF DONUTBALL on the beach in the Matunuck, Rhode Island vicinity in AUGUST 2026.
• We had our first Jamboree tourney last August with 12 teams in Matunuck, RI, with our old prototypes, and it was oh so awesome. 
• Now the big time is coming and we are definitely going to try to get on ESPN THE OCHO!
• Everyone who gets a Donutball set (or a t-shirt) through our Kickstarter campaign will receive an automatic free registration to the tourney – just get yourself to the “Ocean State”.
• Receive your set in June, practice up, spread the word, and come compete. More details and exact date TBA.
• We will also be announcing more events & tournaments in the future. Let us know if you we should sponsor or showcase at your sweet event. Email [email protected].

Shipping

We are planning to start shipping in June, barring any delays or new wars, etc.

We are still negotiating with a few domestic and international carriers and working on the best shipping options & pricing. We will follow-up after campaign to confirm exact shipping rates. Estimates are below.

LOCAL DELIVERY

If you live near the Arlington, VA area (where we are based) and possibly a few other locations, we will contact you after the campaign is over and if you are able to pick up from us or we can coordinate another local delivery / meetup option, we will handle it that way.

Video Credits

We love the way our Kickstarter storytelling video came out – hopefully you do too. It was filmed and edited by our wonderful Los Angeles based filmmaker friend, James Milner: (www.MilnerMedia.com | @CameraJames)

All the footage was his, except a few iPhone clips and a other random bits. All the smooth goodness was on James’ big sweet camera on a gimbal. James does a lot of great corporate film, TV shows, and films for LA musicians – we suggest you hire him for anything you need. And he likes donuts too!

Get Psyched!

Donutball Website   |   Instagram  |  Facebook  |  TikTok
[email protected]