by Paul Tukey
Scoring is one point for a bolas that hangs onto the lowest rung, two points for the middle rung, and three points for the top rung.
If all three bolas land on the same rung, or one bolas lands on each of the three rungs, an extra point is awarded. The maximum number of points per inning is 10.
Strategy. As in bocce and cornhole, knocking the other player’s bolas off a rung is part of the fun strategy of the game. Some bolas wrap themselves multiple times around a rung and are virtually impossible to dislodge. Others land on a rung but just dangle from it. Those are relatively easy to knock off with a well-placed shot. But risk/reward comes into play here, because knocking off an opponent’s bolas makes it almost impossible to land your own bolas on the rung.
Monkeying Around
After playing a game his father called monkey ball on a camping trip in 2003, Andy Frushour came back to his East Lansing, Michigan, home and, as he said, “took the game to the next level.” The physical education organizer formed monkeyball leagues, special events, and even computerized rankings of the world’s top 100 players.
The annual Monkeyball World Championship, held each year at “The Old Orchard” on Route 99 between Lansing and Eaton Rapids, Michigan, draws dozens of players from 10 states. The game is ladder toss at its core, but monkeyball players call their ladders “trees” and throw the bolas from a full 30 feet away.
It sounds simple, but the aspect of having to score exactly 21 points really makes this game challenging, because the lowest rung of the ladder, although only worth one point, is probably harder to hit than the other two rungs. If one player or team in the game charges off to a big lead of, say, 20–10, the low-scoring team still has a good chance of winning.
The double ball for ladder golf is based on the bolas or boleadoras used by the ancient Chinese and Native American tribes for hunting. The weighted balls or stones connected by cords were used to entangle animals’ feet so they couldn’t run and were easy to capture.
Based on folk songs and nursery rhymes that may be close to a thousand years old, the game of London Bridge and its cousins have largely been relegated to antiquity in recent decades, possibly because it’s too docile for our hyperactive X-Games culture. The words, “London Bridge is falling down, falling down, falling down; London Bridge is falling down, my fair lady,” still roll off the tongue, but the associated actions in the Victorian game are often seen as too old-fashioned by all but the youngest of modern youth.
ALSO KNOWN AS
King George’s Troops, Oranges and Lemons, Stone Bridge
That view needs to change. A deeply symbolic game inextricably linked to a familiar song, London Bridge teaches early elements of dance and rhythm. As a social activity that de-emphasizes winning and losing, the game offers a healthy modicum of exercise either indoors or out. It can also be used to introduce new languages and cultures, since the fundamental “falling bridge” lyrics have been translated the world over.
THE SETUP
BASIC IDEA
Two players form an arch and try to capture other players as they pass through
PLAYING AREA
Any area free of tripping hazards
EQUIPMENT
A rope, if a final tug of war is part of the plan
AGES
3 and up
PLAYERS
At least 6, but the more the merrier
How to Play
The game begins with two players facing each other and forming a bridge by locking their hands together in the air above their heads.
As the bridge players sing, “London Bridge is falling down . . . ,” a train of children, holding on to each other’s waists, passes under the arch.
As the verse is finishing, “. . . falling down, my fair lady,” the bridge players lower their arms to try and capture the player who happens to be passing through.
Captured players must leave the line until only one remains.
Any games that involve music enhance the opportunity for communal bonding and this one, especially, fills the bill. The arches, whether two players or several, can share knowing glances and instantly increase the tempo of the song, or conversely, slow it down depending on who they want to catch. Words can be changed or added to the original London Bridge song, first published in the 1700s.
London Bridge is falling down, falling down, falling down;
London Bridge is falling down, my fair lady.
How shall we build it up again, up again, up again?
How shall we build it up again, my fair lady?
Build it up with wood and clay, wood and clay, wood and clay;
Build it up with wood and clay, my fair lady.
Wood and clay will wash away, wash away, wash away;
Wood and clay will wash away, my fair lady.
And continuing:
Build it up with silver and gold/Gold and silver I have none.
Build it up with needles and pins/Pins and needles bend and break.
Build it up with stone so strong/Stone so strong will last so long.
Variations
In some versions of the game, the prisoner is led, still confined by the arms of the captors, to the “prison” and asked, “Will you have a diamond necklace or a gold pin?” or an equivalent question. Two prison keepers represent either the necklace or the pin and the prisoner lines up behind whichever one he or she selects. The game then continues, “London Bridge . . . my fair lady,” until all the players are caught and aligned behind a prison keeper.
In some games, a final team of winners is chosen by a tug of war between the necklaces and the pins; the bridge players can join one side or the other to ensure even teams for the tug. This part of the game, in many cultures, holds rich symbolism, as though the players are pulling lost souls back from the afterlife.
Another way of playing has the captured players joining the bridge rather than standing behind prison guards. That way, the bridge becomes an expanding tunnel as the game progresses, making it increasingly challenging to pass through without getting caught. The final player left outside the clutches of the bridge is the winner.
LOST IN TIME
The origin of the London Bridge game and folk song is still a matter of great debate. According to Walt Disney’s The Truth About Mother Goose (1957), the song refers to the deterioration of the London Bridge that was built in 1176 and demolished on July 4, 1823.
Others say the song is older than that, inspired by the destruction of the London Bridge by Olaf II of Norway during the war of 1014. Still others believe the game and song originated in Denmark under the name of “Bro, Bro Brille.”
A crossing has existed at approximately the same spot along the Thames River in London since about 55 CE, when the Romans constructed a bridge atop wooden pilings.
In 1831, King William IV and Queen Adelaide dedicated a bridge that served until it was sold to American magnate Robert P. McCulloch of McCulloch Oil for $2.5 million in 1968. That London Bridge, shown below, was rededicated on October 10, 1971, at Lake Havasu City, Arizona, where it still stands.
A primitive racing contest with more ties to soccer than traditional kickball, this pastime dates to the ancient Tarahumara (TAH-rah-oo-MAH-rah) Indians, who are said to have invented it thousands of years ago in the mountains of northwestern Mexico. To this day, the Tarahumara, which translates to “foot runners,” start running great distances at very young ages, always kicking a ball along the way.
ALSO KNOWN AS
Indian Kickball, Kick Croquet, Kickball Racing, Rarajípari
Scaled-down versions of rarajípari are played in Mexican villages and at fiestas across North America on courses that are modified to fit into neighborhoods, playgrounds, and backyards.
Kick and Run
The simple goal is to kick a ball around a course faster than the other player or team. Winners can be determined by stopwatches or the more traditional method of racing to see who crosses a finish line first.
THE SETUP
Be the first to kick a small ball over a distance or through an obstacle course
PLAYING AREA
Can be flat or hilly
EQUIPMENT
• 1 or 2 small balls, such as tennis balls
• Stones, stakes, or other objects as obstacles
AGES
3 and up
PLAYERS
2 or more
Rules. Three primary versions of the game exist. The traditional contest rewards endurance, while the modern game emphasizes speed. The backyard and playground version is typically set up as an obstacle course.
Mexican kickball can be played one against one, but it’s more fun with multiple players.
For races involving a team, the captains agree on a starting and finishing line.
The captain kicks the ball forward and the other players race toward the ball, trying to advance it toward the finish line.
Some rules call for all players on the team to kick the ball in succession, meaning no team is faster than its slowest runner.
Strategy. Long kicks advance the ball quickly, but also run a greater risk of going off target. The tennis balls typically used in this game don’t lend themselves to accurate long kicks.
In versions of the game set up as obstacle courses, players might be required to kick the ball over a box, under a picnic table, around a lamp post, over a bench, and through a goal at the end. Relay races are really fun in this format. Soccer coaches can also use this style of game as a drill in practice to emphasize ball control and kicking dexterity.
≪FLASHBACK PAUL≪
This game takes me back to the neighborhood on Edward Street in Waterville, Maine, in the 1960s and early ‘70s, where we could make a game or race out of anything. We kicked ratty tennis balls around the elementary school, then crossed the street and kicked them toward the Thibodeaus’ dance studio, around old Mr. Howard’s house and through his backyard, under our fence, and finally through the old barn door at the end of our dirt driveway. Four decades later, I can remember every detail of that neighborhood as if I had been there yesterday.
Native Americans throughout the southern United States and northern Mexico have long considered kickball racing to be a spiritual activity. Races of 30 miles or more are contested in the autumn after ceremonial feasts during which that season’s runners are named by the tribal leaders. Traditional balls are still formed from stone or, more often, mesquite or wood from the paloverde tree.
Games that involve knocking down sticks with other sticks trace back to the world’s earliest civilizations. Anyone can play and the implements for the game are easily crafted from branches and small logs. Various versions of more formal games of skittles have been played across Europe since at least the Middle Ages, including the sport of kyykka (pronounced KEE-ka), which involves flinging a baseball bat-like implement at the sticks.
ALSO KNOWN AS
Finnish Skittles, Gorodki, Kyykka, Lawn Bowling, Skattles, Smite
It All Adds Up
In the mid-1990s, a Finnish toy company vastly increased the skill and strategy needed for the game by painting a number from 1 to 12 on top of a dozen pins or “skittles.” The object of Mölkky (pronounced MUL-kih), or modern Finnish skittles, is to be the first player or team to score exactly 50 points by knocking down the appropriate number of pins. Exactly 50 is the key. If you score more than 50 points, your total reverts back to 25 points.
THE SETUP
BASIC IDEA
Knock down numbered pins to add up to an exact score of 50
PLAYING AREA
Any flat surface; bumpy lawns make the game tougher!
EQUIPMENT
• 12 numbered wooden pins or skittles (approximately 8 inches high and 3 inches in diameter)
• A thick dowel or small log for throwing (8 to 12 inches long)
AGES
4 and up
PLAYERS
2 or more
The math component makes this an ideal game to reinforce addition and subtraction skills, while the requirement of an exact point total takes this game well beyond the strategic realm of “whoever scores the most points wins.” For that reason, we think this version of an ancient game deserves to be a worldwide classic.
The Finnish Mölkky Association organizes the annual world championships, which attract hundreds of teams from across Europe to compete in Lahti, Finland.
Rules. The game begins with all 12 pins or skittles packed tightly together, somewhat as pins would be at a bowling alley. The pins are generally placed in four rows, with pins 1 and 2 in front; 3, 10, and 4 in the next row; 5, 11, 12, and 6 in the third row; and 7, 9, and 8 in the back row. Players stand 10 to 12 feet away and the first player lobs a dowel or small log at the pins.
The scoring is what makes the game really interesting:
If a player knocks down a single pin, he receives the total painted on the pin.
But if the player knocks down multiple pins, he or she receives one point for each pin knocked down. So, for example, if the first player knocks down all 12 pins, he or she receives 12 points.
Any fallen pins are then placed upright in the exact spot where the bottom of the pin landed and the next player throws.
As the game advances, the pins can become quite spread out.
If a player misses three times in a row, he or she is eliminated from the game.
As a player or team approaches 50 points, say 45, then the goal would be to score only five points by knocking down the 5 pin, or maybe the 1 and 4 pins; however, if a player knocks down the 6 pin by mistake, the score would revert to 25.
Strategy. Having to keep a running count of your points makes for all sorts of angling and strategy. Pads of paper can be used to keep score, but the requirement of keeping track in your head can help build some rudimentary math skills.
Because the tossing dowel rolls freely and is fairly long, this game is tougher than it looks. Unlike bowling, where strength, coordination, and keen aim determine success or failure, Mölkky is all about planning ahead as you approach the coveted 50 points. Because strength doesn’t offer any particular advantage in this game, it’s great for the young and old, even those confined to wheelchairs.
Scaled Down
The Finnish company Tuoterengas, which owns the trademark on the name Mölkky, recently introduced “TupaMölkky” or Table Mölkky, which can be played indoors. The only difference from the outdoor game is that the playing pieces are smaller.
Some historians debate about which toss game came first, horseshoes or quoits. We’re going with the quoit, a metal donutshaped weapon used by the ancient Greeks and Romans. The earliest versions, known as chakrams or war quoits, were thrown sidearm, and the most skilled warriors could decapitate an enemy from a great distance. Soldiers were said to have come up with the idea of sticking a stake in the ground and tossing their weapons underhand toward the target and the game of quoits was born.
ALSO KNOWN AS
Ring Toss
According to Peter Brown of the National Quoits Association in England, the sport of horseshoes emerged as a poor man’s alternative. “Quoits were quite prized and were, in fact, often the trophy for winning a match,” he said. “Commoners who did not have access to quoits took up tossing old horseshoes instead.”
THE SETUP
BASIC IDEA
Toss a set of rings toward a stake, scoring points for landing the nearest to or over the stake
PLAYING AREA
Frequent players often construct a pit around the hobs, although hammering the hob directly into the lawn works just fine. Note: official quoits leave divots when they land.
EQUIPMENT
• Four quoits (regulation ones are metal)
• 1 stake (hob), driven into the ground to a height of about 4 inches
AGES
2 and up
PLAYERS
2 or 4
How to Play
Most people today know th
e game as ring toss, which is played with metal or rope rings lobbed toward a plastic, wooden, or metal stake, called the hob. Infants often have plastic rings in their cribs and senior citizens’ homes usually keep wooden ring toss sets in the recreation room; however, for the purists, only the metal equipment and ancient rules will suffice.
We believe that quoits is a better family game than horseshoes simply because players of all skill sets are more likely to be rewarded. Unlike horseshoes, which can be dominated by highly skilled players hitting ringers, landing a quoit directly over the hob is rare. That brings strategy and blocking more into play, much as with bocce or croquet.
Rules. Scored similarly to horseshoes, quoits involves landing the ring over, on, or near the hob.
Players or teams alternate throwing their pair of quoits.
The simplest scoring awards three points for a ringer, two points if the ring is touching or leaning on the hob, and one point for the closest quoit to the hob.
If two players ring the hob during the same round, only the quoit on top scores points, bringing heartache to the player who gets “topped.”
In team play, players need to be careful not to outdo their own teammates and waste good shots.
The first player or team to 21 points wins that round.
Games can be played with just one hob, but official rules call for two, spaced 21 feet (6.5 m) apart. The throwing distance can easily be modified when younger or less-skilled players are involved. The U.S. Quoiting Association calls for quoits to weigh 4 pounds each with a diameter of 6.5 inches and a 3-inch-diameter hole in the center. For children’s ring-toss sets, of course, the weight will be far less, and homemade versions of the game can be played by creating rings out of twigs, ropes, thin wood, or any other pliable material.