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Yard Games & Equipment for Parties

They say you can plan a pretty picnic, but you can't control the weather. What you can control, however, is the entertainment. If you are planning an outdoor get-together, there are a number of yard games available that can accommodate just about any size yard and any number of players. Some, such as horseshoes, have been around for centuries. Others, however, such as cornhole, are still relatively new, but are gaining a following relatively quickly.

Ladder Ball
- Ladder ball is a game that is played with at least two players or teams. Both ladders have three rungs spaced 13 inches apart. Different points are assigned to each rung of the ladder. Players use bolas, which are two golf balls attached by a piece of nylon rope. Each player tosses his or her bola to the ladder, attempting to wrap the bola around a rung on the ladder to earn points. After each player has thrown his or her bola to the ladder, points are tallied. The first player or team to reach 21 points wins.
Horseshoes
- The game of horseshoes dates back to the second century and is thought to have even derived from earlier Grecian discus and ring toss games. Today, horseshoes is a simple game requiring little equipment. Drive two metal stakes into the ground, 40 feet apart. Toss horseshoes toward the stake that is 40 feet away, trying to get your horseshoe to wrap around the stake. Points are awarded for various shoe-landing positions, such as ringers and leaners. Horseshoes is played by teams of two players who play innings that include four horseshoe tosses, two by each player. The first team to reach a predetermined point total or is leading after a predetermined number of innings wins.
Volleyball
- You can play backyard volleyball with just a net and volleyball. Stretch a net across your yard. Create teams of up of six players each. Each player assumes a specific position for the serve. Once the ball has been served, the players are free to move around. The players then hit the ball back and forth over the net with their hands. The ball must go over the net to remain in play. If it hits the ground, goes over the net, but lands out of bounds, or fails to go over the net within three hits, the play is over. Points are only won by the serving team. The winning team is decided by a predetermined number of points. If playing in matches, the first team to win two out of three matches is the winner.
Cornhole
- Cornhole has become a more well-known backyard game in recent years. It is a simple game consisting of two cornhole boards and eight small bags of corn, each holding one pound of corn. A cornhole board is 2 feet wide and 4 feet long, with one 6-inch-diameter hole cut out of the surface. For play, the cornhole boards are placed 26 feet apart. Teams of two stand at the opposite cornhole boards and toss their four bags of corn into their own cornhole boards. Points are tallied up after all of the cornhole bags have been tossed. Three points are given for a bag that makes it into the hole, while one point is awarded for a bag on the surface of the board. The game continues on until one team has reached a predetermined number of points to win, usually 21.

Party Games