What is the best way to incorporate physics into a tetherball game?

[henrykl]

i am a game programming student in Florida and am attempting to write a game of tether ball but i do not have the strongest background in physics(understatement). what i believe I am looking for might actually be pendulum physics but again I am not sure. any help that is offered would be greatly appreciated

 

[olivermsun]

Sounds like this could be about as easy or hard as you want to make it.

How would this work? Would you have two paddles and a tether ball in the middle in 2d? Or would this be full 3d?

Have you played tether ball?

 

[henrykl]

yes 2 paddles 3d would be nic becuase i would like to render the ball going comletely around the rod

 

[henrykl]

and yes i have played tether ball though there i one thing I am not sure of is wether or not the players can knock the ball in differ ent directions legally