Ball games (or ballgames), also ball sports, are any form of game or sport which feature a ball as part of play. These include games such as association football (soccer), baseball, basketball, and American football. Such games have diverse rules and histories and are of mostly unrelated origins. Ball games can be defined in several broad types:
Bat-and-ball games, such as baseball and cricket.
Racquet and ball games, such as tennis, squash and badminton.
Hand and ball-striking games, such as various handball codes, rebound handball and four square.
Goal sports, usually team sports such as basketball and all forms of football, lacrosse, and hockey (the derived sport of ice hockey, which uses a puck rather than a ball, is classified with the goal, team ball sports for some purposes).
Non-racquet net sports, such as volleyball and sepak takraw.
Target sports or precision sports, such as bowling, lawn bowls, croquet, and golf, as well as cue sports, including snooker, pool, and other forms of billiards (the sport of curling, which uses a stone rather than a ball, is classified with target or precision sports for some purposes).
