It’s hot yard game summer

polygon.com:

Whether you’re out in the backyard grillin’ brats, at the local park flippin’ burgers, or floatin’ on a pontoon boat with a lovely vintage from Michigan’s wine country, there’s nothing quite like a good yard game. So who wants to play another round of bags? I mean… I do. That sounds great, actually.

But when I’m done playing bags, and before we wander off to wherever Dale saw that one dilapidated old Frisbee golf course, I’d like to try some new yard games. So I asked around the Polygon Slack for recommendations. Here’s what came back.

Want to enjoy an easy tossing game with your friends and family that doesn’t require good aim? I got you. Ladderball is a simple and silly tossing game, but rather than individual balls or bean bags, it’s two balls connected with about six inches of rope between them. As such, when you toss the ball, it cartwheels through the air in a semi-unpredictable way (at least that’s what happens when I throw it, because I am terrible at throwing things in the direction I want to throw them).

To play the game, you set up the vertical ladders several feet apart, then split into two teams. My family usually plays one-on-one for fast games that allow plenty of time for snacks between rounds. One person from each team stands by one ladder as the teams alternate tossing their three balls at the other ladder, aiming for the highest rung. The string between the balls often wraps around one rung, but the game gets fun when you realize how easy it is to knock your pieces (or your opponent’s pieces) off the rungs. When that round is over, switch to the other ladder.

The top rung is worth three points, the middle is worth two, and the bottom is worth one. Most people play ladderball by seeing who can get to 10 points fastest. In addition to family-friendly fun, I also love this game because the balls are relatively soft, so it’s easy to play barefoot by the pool without worrying about getting lobbed. It’s also drunk-people-friendly, if that’s your thing.