Easy to understand, hard to master: F-35s make way for bucketball on the flight deck

Personnel on Carrier Strike Group 25 have been using their downtime to take part in a game that's been described as a version of netball with a little bit of rugby thrown in.

Bucketball is typically played by Royal Navy crews on the flight decks of ships - in this case HMS Prince of Wales.

Rules can vary across the Senior Service, but essentially the game sees two teams of players – usually small groups of around six – compete to throw homemade balls into buckets held by a member of their own team.

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It is up to the opponents to prevent them from doing this by defending the bucket and stopping the opponents from successfully shooting into it.

Unlike netball a player can move while holding the ball, as can the person holding the bucket at each end of the playing area.

Typically, they have a zone they can move within or can even be perched on a slightly raised platform.

The ball is often made from rags and masking tape, and sometimes several are made as they can be lost to the sea after being thrown overboard during a game.

Some variations allow teams to re-rack their opponent's buckets one time per game.

Although it can be played as a non-contact sport it can get aggressive between players completing for the ball, and injuries can occur with teams playing on the hard surface of the flight deck.

It is common for ships' crews to play the game during their downtime and it can promote team building within a ship’s company while providing healthy competition among the crew.

The sailors serving on the Carrier Strike Group have recently been enjoying the game as the travel to the Indian Ocean on their deployment.

HMS Prince of Wales boasted on social media about having the biggest bucketball court the Royal Navy had ever seen.