Ken

Ken is a popular sport played within the Allied Lands, and is a mix of soccer, basketball, paintball, and dodge ball. The game was designed by "a sorcerer of questionable sanity," who desired to create "the most complicated game he could for budding sorcerers." He even named it after himself: Ken. The meaning and purposes behind many of the rules are unknown, as the original rulebook - with said explanations - has been lost long ago.

At Whitehall, it is played in order to teach the students how to cooperate, as well as to provide valuable training for later in life. Emily Sanderson is not a very huge sports enthusiast; she detests "all team sports with a passion." This was inspired by Christopher G. Nuttall's own lack of enthusiasm for sports.

Rules and Play

The game is played between two teams of twelve players each, and within a four-sided arena. Two players from each side, selected at random, are "traitors" who work for the opposing team.

The arena has a variety of paths to take, and tubes that permit players to move around the different sides of the arena. Emily describes the field as something similar to "a climbing frame for children."

More than one ball is used in game. If a player is struck by a ball, they are sent to the penalty box to be laughed at for ten minutes. If a player is struck while holding one of the other balls, the effect changes depending on the color of the ball at the time. Each ball changes color completely at random, between three different colors:

• Red: The player is out of the game.
• Yellow: The player must immediately toss the ball to someone from the opposing team.
• Green: The player receives a free pass.

Points are scored either by putting a ball through a hoop or knocking players into a penalty box or off the field. Referees are permitted to award additional points for initiative, which causes the teams to play savagely against one another.