Overview of Game Rules

Set up assembled three rail targets approximately 30' apart, preferably on grass or sand, not on concrete or asphalt.  Players stand along side, but behind a target.  You can play with two players or with four players, two teams of two each.  If you play with two players, both players toss beside, but to the rear of the same target, tossing to the other target 30' away.  If you are playing with four players, two teams, one member of each team goes to opposite targets, just as in horseshoes.

Play begins with the first player tossing to the target 30' away.  Players must stand along side, but to the rear of their target.  Play continues by players alternating tosses to the target.  After each player has tossed three times, scoring is determined as follows:

Tethered balls hanging from the top (red) bar score three points. From the middle (yellow) bar two points, and from the bottom (blue) bar one point.

Because scoring is not determined until the tosses are completed, a tethered ball can be knocked off a rail eliminating those points.  From this point forward, the team or individual with the most points must toss first if the score is tied, the team or individual scoring last tosses first.

If you are playing teams, the two players at the opposite target now toss back to the other target alternating tosses as before.  If there are only two players competing, the players move down to the other target and toss back to the original target, again alternating tosses.

Play continues until a team, or individual, has accumulated a score of EXACTLY 21 points.  If you go over 21, any points that you have scored during that round are lost and the score remains as it was at the start of the round.  Example: The Red Team is at 20 and the Blue Team is at 17.  Red scores 2 points arriving at 22 points and the Blue team scores 4 points arriving at 21 points. The Blue team wins at exactly 21 while the Red team returns to 20 points, their point total before the round started.  In the event of a tie, each player, either two or four, gets one more round of three tosses.  The player or team last scoring to tie the game tosses first.  The greatest number of points scored during the play-off round(s) determines the winner.

To speed up play and accommodate more players, you can move the targets a bit closer, say 25 feet, or play to a lower winning total, say 15 points.  Always play to an EXACT number, this adds excitement to the game.  Better yet, buy an extra set and have two games going at the same time!