This and That

From Horseshoes to S’mores….

This is another “I’m bored” buster.  Cheap and a great family activity!   Plan an evening or weekend afternoon of outdoor games with a finale of s’mores.  Several of the local parks in our area have shuffleboards, horseshoes pegs, and croquette materials that can be reserved for free. 

We start from the oldest game and work our way to modern time to finish with a game of apples to apples while making s’mores on one of the park grills. 

Here are the basic rules for horseshoes, shuffleboard, and croquette as found by the official game site for each.

Horseshoes – the oldest with a similar game being played by the Greeks and Romans

In horseshoes, there are two ways to score: by throwing “ringers,” or by throwing the horseshoe nearest to the opposite stake. This scoring system gives rise to the popular expression “Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades.” A ringer is a thrown horseshoe such that the horseshoe completely encircles the stake. Disputes are settled by using a straightedge to touch the two points at the ends of the horseshoe, called “heel calks.” If the straightedge doesn’t touch the stake, then the horseshoe is a ringer.

The nearest horseshoe to the stake within 6 inches counts for one point. If both of one player’s horseshoes are closer than the opponent’s, that player scores two points. A ringer scores three points. A leaner, the case in which a horseshoe literally leans on the stake, in pro horseshoes counts for 1 point. In amateur games, a leaner usually counts for two points. In the case of one ringer and a closer horseshoe, both horseshoes are scored for a total of four points. If a player throws two ringers, that player scores six points. If each player throws a ringer, the ringers cancel and no points are scored. Such occurrences are called “dead” but are still used toward the pitcher/ringer average. Most games are played to 21, and the winner must win by two.

Single points in amateur games must measure 6 inches or less from any part of the shoe to the nearest part of the stake. Also, a game cannot be won when an opposing player, tossing a shoe, bumps an opponent’s shoe to cause the opponent to reach the winning score be it eleven or twenty-one. The game winning point must be attained by the person tossing the horseshoe pertaining to his own score. Examples: If a player has 10 points and an opponent has 8 points, and the player with 10 points tosses a horseshoe and bumps his opponent’s horseshoe for a ringer, the opponent scores 3 points for a total of 11 points, but does not win the game because of the 2 point rule. If a player has 9 points and an opponent 8 points and the player with 9 points tosses a horseshoe and bumps his opponent’s horseshoe for a ringer, the opponent cannot score 3 points, because the winning point must be attained by his own toss. However, the opponent can take two points, bringing his total point score to 10

Shuffleboard – A 1632 royal expense for this game

In deck shuffleboard, the players use sticks, called cues, to push weighted disks, called pucks, along a usually wooden surface (e.g. the deck of a ship), placing the disk within a triangular scoring zone at the far end of the court. The pinnacle of the triangle points toward the shooter, and the zone is divided horizontally into four numbered sub-zones, the numbers representing point values. If the disk lands completely within the small triangular tip zone without touching any part of the borders of the triangle, it is worth ten points; completely within the trapezoidal second tier of the triangle, it is worth eight points; and completely within the trapezoidal third tier of the triangle, seven points. If the disk lands in the large, rearmost and also trapezoidal ’10 Off’ section, it costs minus ten points. Many boards have a small triangle drawn in the center of the ’10 off’ trapezoid, splitting it and making it harder to land completely inside the section. The game is played in matches of ten frames (a frame is both players or teams taking their turns). The basic strategy involves deflecting the opposition’s disks out of zones with a positive value, and increasing one’s own points by landing disks into areas of a high point value.

Shuffleboard can be played either one-on-one or by two teams of two. After all pucks have been played on one ‘end’, only the winning puck or group of pucks scores (according to the points marked on the board). Play then continues in the opposite direction. The winner is the first to a set number of points (e.g. 15).

Croquet ~ England by storm in the 1860s.

The point of croquet, of course, is to use your mallet to hit your ball through the wickets and into the stake(s), and finish doing so before your opponent(s). Croquet is usually played as a team guy, with two or three people to a side. The order of play is always blue, red, black, yellow, followed by green and orange if six croquet balls are being used. In team play, blue/black/green goes against red/yellow/orange.

Each player has one shot per turn but can earn extra shots by scoring a wicket or by striking another ball, which is known as a roquet. Scoring earns one bonus shot and roquetting earns two. New bonus shots can only be earned on the final bonus shot, and there’s a limit of two at once. With the optional “deadness” rule, a roquetted ball can’t be struck for a bonus again unless the striking player has first scored another wicket. If a ball stops out of bounds, place it inside the boundary in a direct line from its position.

Croquet wickets have to be run in the proper order and in the right direction.

Nine wicket: bottom two up, bottom right, center, top right, top two up, stake, top two down, top left, center, bottom left, bottom two down, stake

Six wicket: bottom left, top left, top right, bottom right, bottom center, top center, top left, bottom left, bottom right, top right, top center, bottom center (up), stake

 If none of the area parks offer any of the equipment for these games, water games are also great fun and can be played at home. 

Next week, I’ll list a few of our favorites along with a few ‘water’ snacks.