Ladder toss[1] is a lawn game played by throwing bolas (two balls connected by a string) onto a ladder.
A "ball and ladder game" was patented in 2002 by Pennsylvanian Robert G. Reid,[2] a postman who had played the game with his family for decades before deciding to file for patent in November, 1999.[3] The game is reported as having been played on Escapees campgrounds in the United States in the late 1990s.[4] Some origin stories speculate that the bola is a stand-in for a live snake, which cowboys in the western United States or caballeros in Mexico would throw at fences or branches for points.[4]
Reid sold his patent to Ladder Golf LLC, recorded in the patent office in March 2005, and the company began manufacturing the game commercially.[3] [2] [5] The company sponsored a tournament in San Diego in April, 2005, featuring 32 teams.[5]
Being a relatively new and grassroots game, it goes by many names. Some of these names are "Läderbölen" (English: "Ladder Ball"), "Bälle auf der Linie" (English: "Balls on the Line"), "Lasso Golf", "North Dakota Golf", "Norwegian Golf", "Dangle Ball", "Balls on Bars", "Hillbilly Golf", "Testicle Toss", "Balls-a-Danglin" and many others. There is also a patented version of the game called Ladder Golf.
The items needed to play are two ladders and a set of three bolas per team.
Each ladder has three rungs, each rung scoring a different point value. One common method of scoring is to have the rungs be one, two and three points. In one variety the top is worth 1, middle is 2, and bottom is 3.[6] Points are tallied at the end of each round, after all teams have thrown their bolas. The bolas suspended on the ladder score the points for that rung, often with the goal of getting at least 21 points to win. The most common variety of scoring would be 1pt for the bottom rung, 2pts for the middle, 3pts for the top, and a bola on each of the rungs scores an automatic 10pts. This makes the game move faster, but is just as hard. If the ball bounces off the ground and lands on a bar it does not count as a point.
There are a few optional ways to earn or lose points:
English scoring is 3pts for the top rung, 1pt for the middle, and 1pt for you & 1pt off the opponent for the bottom. Players race to 21, but if you go above 21 you are 'bust' and nothing is added to your score that round. There are 5 bonus pts for a full house (a bola on each of the rungs) and 3 bonus pts for a triple (three bola on one rung). There are also optional rules for bonus points including a 'knocker' (the balls of the bola hitting each other), a 'banger' (the balls of the bola hitting the rack), a 'dropper' (the bola landing on a rung then dropping to a lower rung) and a 'grounder' (hitting the ground before the rungs). The bonus points can be combined, for example with a 'knock-dropper' scoring two bonus points. Other named shots include a 'twiddler' (multiple spins around the rung) and a 'gapper' (going through a gap clean).
The balls on the bolas are often golf balls, but may be any uniform weight. They are sometimes plastic balls, tennis balls, rubber balls or a monkey's fist knot. Teams are distinguished by having their own color. For example, Team One may have three bolas with blue string, Team Two may have red string and Team Three may have purple string. Also, the teams may have different colors of balls. Ladder toss may be played with two people (one person per team) or up to six people (three teams of two people).
The rungs may be plastic pipe, wood or other materials. Construction of the game is relatively easy and can be put together with the following:
Irrigation (white) PVC pipe is commonly used but electrical (grey) PVC conduit may be preferable, at increased cost, as it contains UV inhibitors to prevent the PVC from getting brittle from sunlight exposure. Alternatively, painting (white) PVC pipe would also protect them from UV; be sure to use a paint intended for plastics and sanding with 220 grit will help with adhesion.
The game is often played while tailgating at sporting events.[6] There may be various rule sets used.