Spinnerball

Spinnerball is a backyard ball toss game similar in game play to horseshoes. Simply put, you toss a spinnerball (two weights on the ends of a piece of rope) toward a short ladder.

Alternate Names

Spinnerball goes by an impressive number of alternate names. Although a comprehensive list is elusive, some of the variants are: Ladderball, BlongoBall, Bola, Bolo, Bolo Ladder Loop, Bolo Polo, Bolo Toss, Dandy Golf, Hillbilly Golf, Hillbilly Horseshoes, Horseballs, Ladder Golf, Mexican Golf, Mexican Horseshoes, Monkey Bars Golf, Pocca Bolo, Rattlerail Toss, Spin-It, Top Toss, Willy Ball, and Zing-Ball.

Playing the game

1. Step off 10 paces (about 20 feet) from the Scoring Bar. Mark a line in the ground at this spot; it’s where you and your partner will throw.

2. Facing the Scoring Bar, take turns throwing the Spinnerballs (underhand) at the Scoring Bar, trying to get them to stop (land) on the Scoring Bar. Once all Spinnerballs are thrown the round is complete. Add the scores up and keep a running total for each player (color). Retrieve the Spinnerballs, go back to the line created in the previous step, and start the next round, with the player who scored the most in the previous round going first. In the case of a tie, the previous rounds leader will go first and so on…

3. Keeping Score - The first player to reach 21 points at the end of a round wins the game. If both players are tied at 21 points at the end of a round, both score are reset to 15 and play continues until one player reaches 21 at the end of a round.

4. A player may (accidentally or intentionally) knock another players Spinnerball off of the Scoring bar with their shot. At the end of each round, points will only be awarded to Spinnerballs on the Scoring Bars.

5. If a player goes over 21, at the end of a round, they must reset their score to 15 and play from there.

Equipment

The spinnerball is a length of cord attached to two objects, one at each end. It is only important that the objects at each end are equivalent and the lengths of the cords are the same.

Typical games are made with balls and braided string, but a large washer or a monkey's fist knot also serve the purpose when tied with any available flexible cord. Golf balls are often used in home-made games, and commercial versions are of similar size but use a softer material. To differentiate teams, the cords (or the objects fastened to them) used by each team are a different color.

Each ladder consists of three horizontal bars with equal vertical spacing, often constructed of PVC pipe. Ladders may be equipped with a base to stand alone or be mounted on stakes. Each rung of the ladder has a point value, and each bola left hanging on a rung at the end of a round scores that many points.

A complete game set will typically include:

* Three spinnerball per person or team
* Enough spinnerballs for three people or teams
* One ladder
* A bag or box to carry the game

Again, variations in game sets are the choice of the owner. Sets may include more or fewer bolas per team, limit the number of teams, or change the number of ladders. How a game is transported depends mainly on the extent to which the ladders come apart or fold.

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See Also

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