The game is broken down into innings with two horseshoes pitched by each contestant.
A ringer - worth three points - is a shoe that comes to rest around the stake. Both ends of the shoe must clear the stake for a ringer. A shoe that is not a ringer but leans against the stake or comes to rest with any portion of it within six inches of any part of the stake is worth one point.
Get in the game
Several toy retailers now sell a yard game combination pack that includes horseshoes, volleyball, badminton and backyard tennis equipment, a flying disc, junior soccer ball and plastic bat and ball.
The combination set and individual tetherball, volleyball, badminton and croquet sets continue to be "very popular items" with Toys "R" Us customers, says Pam Faatz, corporate spokeswoman.
"They sell very well," she says.
But you don't need to spend much money for hours of lawn-related fun. All you need is an imagination.
You can turn trees, fences and other yard fixtures into Frisbee Golf targets, according to the Yard Games Web site at www.yardgames.150m.com. Simply write one hole number on each of nine sheets of paper. Then tape each number, or hole, to a different target in the yard to create a Frisbee golf course. Make a scorecard with hole numbers in a vertical row on the left side of a piece of paper and player names in a horizontal row at the top of the paper. Frisbee golf can accommodate any number of players, and par columns can be added to scorecards for a more competitive edge.
Something for everyone
The Yard Games Web site also gives detailed instructions for the classic "Statue" game. At least four people are needed to play the game, which is great for all ages because it doesn't involve any running. Here's how to play:
- Choose one person to be the store owner and another person to be the buyer. Everyone else is a statue.
- The buyer waits while the store owner spins each statue.
- After spinning, the statues position themselves into the shape of any object, animal or, well, anything. Statues must remain still.
- The store owner quietly asks for each statue's identification and memorizes it before opening the store.
- The buyer then chooses which statue to purchase by flipping the imaginary switch that activates each statue.
- After the statue's switch is flipped, the statue must act in an appropriate manner. For example, a dog statue might start barking.
- The game is over when the buyer guesses the identity of the statue he chooses to buy.
Remember hurling lawn darts at a target in the yard? Forget it. The U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission in 1988 banned the sale of the popular outdoor game - which consisted of 12-inch long darts with metal or hard plastic tips on one end and fins on the other - after the deaths of three children.
