Hobbies And Interests
Lawn Bowling
Far more popular in Europe than in the United States, lawn bowling--also known as "bowls," "bowling on the green" or "bocce"--is played with a set of wooden balls and a long stretch of grass. First, one small ball, called the "jack," is rolled a distance of 75 to100 feet out in front of the players. Then, players take turns pitching their balls toward the jack. The game can be played in teams or in singles. The team or player with the closest ball to the jack earns one point for each ball closer to the jack than the nearest opponent&'s ball.
Kubb
Kubb, a Swedish game, is played using wooden blocks called "kubbs." Playing pieces consist of 10 small kubbs, one large kubb called the "king," and six throwing sticks. The king is placed in the middle of a large space, with five kubbs lined up on either side between 10 and 20 feet away, forming baselines. Teams, standing behind opposing baselines, then take turns trying to knock down one another&'s kubbs with the throwing sticks. If all of an opposing team&'s kubbs are knocked down and the team still has a kubb left, the team may then go after the king for bonus points.
Disc Golf
Disc golf, also known as Frisbee golf, has rules similar to normal golf, except that instead of using clubs to hit golf balls into holes, players throw discs into specially designed baskets. Most disc golf courses, which usually require a relatively large lawn or open space, consist of 18 or 24 holes, with hole lengths ranging from 150 to 500 feet. Players keep score in the manner of golf, with par set by the course designer or agreed upon by players beforehand.
Washers
Similar to horseshoes, washers is a game played with two cups and a couple dozen metal washers. The cups, about four inches in diameter and recessed into the ground if possible, are placed 25 feet apart. Each player stands at one cup and takes turns pitching a set number of washers (usually six) into the opposite cup. A washer inside the cup scores five points, while the washer closest to the cup scores an additional point. Scoring is tallied after all washers are thrown; games are played to a predetermined score.