How to Play a game of Horseshoes
The game of horseshoes has a long history of being one of the more popular activities at family reunions, company picnics or just friendly gatherings. Learning the rules of a game of horseshoes is simple and can provide for hours of fun.
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Instructions
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Choose sides! Horseshoes can be played competitively with 2 or 4 players. In the two player game, each player tosses two horseshoes toward the pitch at the opposite end. In a four player game, each player tosses two horseshoes while his or her teammate is stationed at the other end of the pitch.
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Flip a coin. The general rules of horseshoes call for a simple coin flip to determine which player or team goes first.
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Set up the horseshoe pitch. A "pitching box" should be set up at each end of the playing area, forty feet apart. The pitching box should be six feet in diameter and filled with sand or other soft material to absorb the impact of the horseshoe. Inside the pitching box, located in the center, should be a metal stake 12-15" above the ground and roughly one-inch in diameter. This will serve as the target for the players.
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Toss that horseshoe! Each player should position themselves in the pitching box at their end, and, using an underhand motion, toss the horseshoe toward the pitching box at the opposite end of the horseshoe pit.
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Try to get a ringer! If a player's horseshoe lands flat around the stake, this is known as a ringer. Congratulations! A ringer is worth three points. If no player scores a ringer, the player whose horseshoe lands closest to the stake is awarded one point. If both players toss a ringer, they cancel each other out and the nearest of the other horseshoes is awarded a single point.
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Determine the winner. 21 is the magic number! A game of horseshoes is won when a player or team reaches twenty-one points.
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Tips & Warnings
The rules for a game of horseshoes can be adapted to whatever works best. If you are playing a friendly, non-competitive game, have fun by changing the scoring to fit your group!
