Ladder Game Overview Rules Gameplay Scoring History Words of the Game Aliases

Overview

Ladder Game is a game in which players throw strings that have balls attached to each end. These strings, or bolas as we'll refer to them, are thrown at a vertical board that contains three horizontal bars. Two types of prominent boards exist today. The first type is made of flexible plastic and sways as the bolas hit it and wrap around the horizontal bars. The other common board type is wood and has no give as the bolas hit it.

Rules

Gameplay

Ladder Game matches consist of two people playing against each other. Each player has three bolas to throw at the board per inning. One player goes first and the other player follows. Players continue alternating their throws until all six bolas are thrown. Once all six bolas are thrown, the score is tallied for the inning. The scoring player throws first to start the new inning. If no player scored, the last player to score in an inning goes first. Doubles play also exists and is identical to singles play except for a few differences. First, there are two teams of two. Secondly, there are two ladder boards. Each board will have a member from each team throwing.

Scoring

A bola wrapping around the top horizontal bar scores three points. Two points are scored for a bola wrapped around the middle bar and one point is scored when landing on the lowest horizontal bar.

There are two main scoring variations that exist today, non-cancellation and cancellation. When non-cancellation scoring is used, the players' points do not cancel out. In cancellation scoring, the players' points cancel each other out. For example, if the red team scores three points and the blue team scores two pints, the red team would get three points if non-cancellation scoring is used and one point if cancellation scoring is used.

The first team to land exactly on 21 points wins the game. If a player goes over 21 points, they return to either 13 or 15 points depending on the version used.

History

Ladder Game was believed to have been discovered by Matt Peterson during the late 1990s. He noticed it being played at campgrounds throughout the United States. Other wilder stories have cowboys throwing snakes at tree branches and keeping score.

In 2001, Robert G. Reid from Pennsylvania patented a ball and latter game that he'd played with family and friends for decades. He filed for the patent in November of 1999. After acquiring the patent, Reid sold it to a company named Ladder Golf LLC in 2005. With ownership of the patent, Ladder Golf LLC began manufacturing the game. Although we use Ladder Game here, Ladder Game is most well known as Ladder Golf, which is actually a company name and not the name of the game.

Words of the Game

Ladder Game, like most other games, has its own terminology. Below are some of the terms we've used when playing ladder game in the backyard.

• Bola - The string that is tossed during Ladder Game. It contains two balls, one on each end.

Aliases

• Hillbilly Golf
• Ladder Golf