Pub game

A pub game is one which is traditionally played inside or outside a pub. These games have a long history, often dating back many centuries, and they come from the traditions of village life. Many of these games started as outdoor sports that people later enjoyed in pubs.

Pub games can be found in many different types. Some are games where you throw things, others use dice, cards, or boards. There are also games that use slot machines, cue and ball equipment like in billiards, bat and ball tools like in cricket, coin pushing or throwing, and even games that involve drinking. These games bring people together for fun and friendship.

History

In his book, Beer and Skittles, Richard Boston says that the first rules about controlling pubs were about games played there. In 1495, Henry VII made a law to stop people from playing indoor games that took away from practicing archery.

Many games played in pubs started as outdoor sports. Over time, these games changed so they could be played inside. This made it easier for pub owners to keep their teams going even when the season for outdoor sports ended.

Pub games included card games like cribbage, throwing games such as darts, and physical sports like cricket. In London, there was a place called Balls Pond Road where people could pay to shoot ducks in a pond behind the pub.

Types

Pub games can be loosely grouped into throwing games, dice games, card games, board games, cue and ball games, bat and ball games, bowling games, coin pushing/throwing games, and drinking games.

Throwing games

Darts

Main article: Darts

Darts is a game where players throw small missiles at a circular target called a dartboard. It is one of the few traditional pub games that remains popular today. Professional darts has specific rules, but in pubs, there are many different ways to play, such as 'Cricket'.

Aunt Sally

Main article: Aunt Sally

Aunt Sally is a game where players throw sticks at a figurine or a ball on a stick to knock it off. Originally, it was a figurine of an old woman with a clay pipe, and the goal was to break the pipe. Today, it is still played in Oxfordshire where players throw sticks at a small ball placed on a spike, trying to knock it off without hitting the spike.

Devil among the tailors

Main article: Devil among the tailors

This game is a type of table skittles where players swing a small wooden ball on a string to knock down nine small skittles arranged in a square. The ball is called the 'devil', and the skittles are called the 'tailors'.

Ringing the bull

Main article: Ringing the bull

Ringing the bull is a game where players swing a bull's nose ring on a string to hook it onto a horn or hook on the wall. It was brought to the Caribbean islands by early settlers and is also called the Bimini Ring Game. It is still played in Ye Olde Trip To Jerusalem, in Nottingham, which claims to be Britain's oldest pub.

Quoits

Main article: Quoits

Quoits is a game where players throw metal, rope, or rubber rings to land near a spike. It can be played indoors on a small table or outside on a marked strip.

Dice games

Bar dice is a simple game played with five dice and a cup, often used to decide who buys the next round of drinks.

Card games

Many card games have been traditionally played in pubs. In Britain today, some of these include:

• Traditional card games
  • Cribbage
  • Euchre
  • Phat
  • Whist
• Gambling games
  • Brag
  • Poker

Cue and ball games

Pool

Main article: Pool (cue sports)

Pool is played on a billiard table with six pockets where balls are placed in a certain order. There are different types of pool, including eight-ball and nine-ball.

Bar billiards

Main article: Bar billiards

This game began in the UK in the 1930s. It is mostly played in southern England and Jersey on a special table without pockets but with scoring holes. Players try to score points by placing balls into these holes before time runs out or a skittle falls over.

Bat and ball games

Bat and Trap

Bat and Trap is a Kentish pub game played between two teams. One team bats while the other bowls. Players hit a heavy rubber ball into the air with a bat and try to hit it between two tall posts some distance away.

Bowling games

Skittles

Skittles is a classic English pub game, and many pubs have a skittle alley. The balls and skittles are often made of wood, and some alleys were originally cowsheds used only in summer.

Coin pushing/throwing games

Pitch penny

Main article: Pitch penny

This game involves throwing coins across a room into a hole carved in the seat of a wooden bench.

Shove ha'penny (or "shove halfpenny")

Main article: Shove ha'penny

Players use a small board with lines to push ha'pennies or similar coins into place between the lines. Players take turns trying to get five coins between the lines, either by pushing their own or moving others.

Toad in the hole

Main article: Toad in the hole (game)

This game involves throwing brass discs, called Toads, at a hole in a lead-topped table. In some places in East Sussex, UK, the 'hole' is in the centre of the lead surface.

Drinking games

• Yard of ale

Other games

• Bagatelle
• Bowls
• Skittles
• Table shuffleboard
• Table football