can 3 unrelated 9 year old children play together

[Folicky]

My experience from childhood is mixed. However when DS has a play date and the neighbours kid joins in, DS can get a bit left out.

Of course they can, just like three unrelated nine year olds might all choose not to play with each other.

Such a strange question!!
Erm yes they can play together.
Really friends on the children and the dynamic and each personality as to whether one gets left out

Soooo strange! Of course they can…? I pretty much was constantly in a group of 3-4 kids from the age of 6 to 17!

Do you mean three children who don't all know each other? Rather than who aren't related?

I think 'two's company, three's a crowd' is often true so I'd avoid this situation personally.

Of course they can!
But if your neighbours’ kids are muscling in on his playdates and excluding him in his own home, I would definitely step in and scoot them out the door.

Not many kids about, we live semi rurally. My son gets on really well with a kid up the road and it's been a godsend, the hang out most weekends and my son who is not overly confident, is confident with him and they both interact well. However I've noticed if DS ever brings a friend from school here and on the times when we used to get the boy up the road involved too then the boy up the road and the playdate kid leave DS out a bit (mostly only laser tag each other, kick the ball to each other etc). So now the kid in the house closest to our's has been asking DS to play football ( we hadn't heard from him in the 4y we've lived here) up until now) and I'm a bit worried the same thing will happen. But, that it will be harder to rectify, and the boy in the house closest to our's snd the boy up the road might become besties and my son loses what has become an important friendship. I don't know what to do for the best, get them all together or keep it a bit separate.