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How to Build the Ladder Game

Ladder ball is a popular game, played at the beach or at barbecues. You may have also heard the game referred to as bolo ball or horse balls, a name derived from its similarity to horseshoes. Players attempt to toss a pair of balls connected by a string, known as a bolo, at a three-rung ladder. After each player has thrown three bolos, someone adds up the points for that turn. The goal is for a team to reach exactly 21 points.

Things You'll Need

10 PVC pipes, 1 inch diameter, 24 inches long
8 PVC pipes, 1 inch diameter, 18 inches long
12 PVC pipes, 1 inch diameter, 12 inches long
12 PVC L-joints, 1 inch
12 PVC T-joints, 1 inch
Glue (optional)
12 golf balls, 2 colors, 6 balls each
Power drill
Vice
Braided string, 3/16 inch diameter
Scissors
Lighter (optional)

Instructions

- 1
  Construct the sides of the support frame for one goal. Attach an L-joint to one end of four of the pieces of 18-inch PVC pipe. Attach the remaining ends of the four pieces to two T-joints. The pipes should enter the T-joint in the two openings that are in alignment at the top of the T. The open ends of the L-joint on each end of the sides should face in the same direction, with the open end of the T-joint facing perpendicular to the open ends of the L-joints.
- 2
  Combine the two sides. Attach a 24-inch piece of PVC to the open L-joints on one side. Connect the open L-joints from the other side to the other ends of the PVC pipes. You should now have a rectangle, 3 feet long and 2 feet wide, with an open end of a T-joint pointing up in the center of each of the 3-foot sides.
- 3
  Construct the sides of the scoring ladder. Each side consists of three 12-inch pieces of PVC, an L-joint and two T-joints. Connect a 12-inch piece of pipe to each of the openings at the top of one T-joint, and one 12-inch piece to one opening of the L-joint. Connect the the remaining T-joint to one of the pipes coming from the first T-joint, and to the pipe coming from the L-joint, with both pipes connecting at the openings that comprise the top of the T-joint. The remaining openings of the T-joints and the L-joint should all face in the same direction, with the bottom piece of piping ending with no cap.
- 4
  Connect the two sides of the scoring ladder using three 24-inch pieces of pipe. Place one end of each pipe into one of the three remaining openings in the joints on one side piece, then connect the other ends into the three remaining joints on the other side piece.
- 5
  Connect the scoring ladder to the openings of the T-joints in the base.
- 6
  Repeat steps 1 through 5 to build the second goal.
- 7
  Drill a 1/4-inch hole through the center of each golf ball. The easiest way to do this is to secure the ball in a vice before drilling.
- 8
  Tie a pair of knots in the string, 18 inches apart. Leave at least 3 inches of string on the outside of each of the knots, and then cut off the section of string.
- 9
  Thread a golf ball onto each end of the string. Snugly secure them against the knots from step 8 by tying a knot outside each ball. Cut off any excess string.
- 10
  Repeat steps 8 and 9 with the remaining golf balls.

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