Summer Games

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Boffo for boules? Crazy for croquet? Have a hankering for horseshoes? All you need is a yard, a few friends and the desire to have fun. Oh, and a competitive streak doesn’t hurt. The following is a sampler of our favorite backyard games. Some are familiar, some aren’t, but they’re all a blast. (Sorry, no Jarts – we don’t want anyone to put an eye out). We’ve given you the basics, but the rest is up to you. Don’t get too hung up on the details – you can still play badminton if you don’t have a regulation court. Just go forth and have fun. Savor the summer. Play.

The game: Koob

The equipment: 10 wooden blocks, six wooden dowels and a red-painted “king” block.

The drill: Two teams of one to six people each take turns knocking over wooden blocks with dowels until only the “king” remains. This sounds easy, but when you have six dowels to knock down 10 blocks, things get a little more strategic.

The court: Grass, snow, rubber mat, beach, whatever, as long as it measures 5 by 8 yards.

The origins: According to www.getkoob.com (the only place in the States that sells the game) Koob originated in Viking times, probably on the island of Gotland in the Baltic Sea. “One story tells us that Viking families played with firewood on the beach.” It’s popular in Europe and Sweden and has a small but devoted following in the United States, mostly through people who have played it at summer camp.

The lowdown: Completely addicting. For information, visit www.getkoob.com.

The game: Croquet

The goods: Six wickets that are color coordinated with six balls (blue, red, black, yellow, green and orange), nine wickets (upside-down U’s made of wire or wood), two stakes.

The drill: In the backyard version, two to six people, in teams or individually, use mallets to whack balls through a set of wickets and into two stakes. The whole setup is arranged in a double-diamond pattern.

The court: Closely cropped grass is best. Other surfaces will work. The standard court is 50 feet by 100 feet, but it can be adapted to fit your yard.

The origins: The first mention of croquet hails from 13th century France, where peasants hit wooden balls through bent willow branches. It then moved on to Ireland before gaining popularity in England, first as a game called “crooky.” When London sporting goods retailer John Jaques started selling complete croquet sets, the game really took off.

The lowdown: Good fun, and the chance to say “sticky wicket” in a faux British accent.

The game: Badminton

The goods: Small, slender rackets, a net, a shuttlecock (a rubber ball with a cone-shaped plastic attachment).

The drill: Singles or doubles use rackets to hit the shuttlecock over the net. If the shuttlecock drops in bounds on your opponent’s side of the court, you get a point, and vice-versa. It’s generally played in a best-of-three match.

The court: The American Badminton Association recommends a ground space of about 1,620 square feet for a badminton court size. The singles badminton court is 17 feet by 44 feet, and the doubles court is 20 feet by 44 feet. In your backyard, any flat surface will do.

The lowdown: For official rules, or to get a better idea of the international badminton scene, visit the International Badminton Federation at www.intbadfed.org.

The game: Bocce

The goods: A target ball, called a pallino; eight bocce balls, usually four each in red and green.

The drill: There are two ways to play: open or closed-court. For backyard purposes, open court play is more feasible. One player tosses the pallino, and singles or teams roll or toss their bocce balls, trying to come closest to the target. The team whose bocce balls are closest to the target scores points for each ball closer than their opponent’s closest ball.

The court: Any terrain in any size will work for open-court bocce.

The origin: Though bocce is closely linked with Italy, where it has flourished for centuries, it is an ancient game, thus its true origin is a bit murky. Some say it began in Egypt. Others say Rome. Still others say Greece. Regardless, these old-school players weren’t tossing brightly colored, engineered plastic balls. They used rocks. And it was just as much fun.

The lowdown: To whet your appetite for bocce (and food), check out the court at the Lompoc Cafe on Rodick Street in Bar Harbor. For more information about the game, visit the United States Bocce Federation at www.bocce.com.

The game: Horseshoes

The goods: Four metal horseshoes, two metal stakes.

The drill: Though you can play in teams in your backyard, people who compete on the horseshoe circuit play individually, each taking turns pitching two metal horseshoes at a stake. The goal is to get a “double ringer,” in which both horseshoes completely encircle the stake. This is worth three points. For those without such precision (which is most of us), shoes that come within 6 inches of the stake each score one point. Any shoes outside this range score nothing.

The court: According to the National Horseshoe Pitchers’ Association, an official court should be 6 feet wide by a minimum of 46 feet long. On either side of the rectangle is a sand- or clay-filled pit, measuring a minimum of 43 inches long by 31 inches wide, with a stake centered in the pit.

The origin: The pitchers’ association says the game dates back to the Roman Empire, when Roman soldiers pitched shoes discarded from the horses used to drive their chariots. Soldiers in the American Revolutionary War pitched horseshoes for recreation on the Boston Common, leading the Duke of Wellington to say, “The war was won by pitchers of horse hardware.”

The lowdown: For official rules, visit the National Horseshoe Pitchers’ Association at www.horseshoepitching.com.

The game: Wiffle ball

The goods: A long, slender plastic bat and a white plastic ball with eight oblong holes on one side of it.

The drill: Unlike baseball or softball, you don’t have to run bases in Wiffle ball, but the rules are similar. Two to 10 people, in teams of one to five players each, pitch, hit and field the ball. If only two people play, fielding is omitted.

The court: The size of the field is optional, but the folks at Wiffle Ball Inc. recommend a triangular area, which is a minimum 20 feet wide at the home run markers and 60 feet long from home plate to each home run marker. The field is laid out with foul lines and markers for singles, doubles, triples and home runs.

The origin: The grandfather of Wiffle Ball Inc. owners David and Steven Mullany designed the game with small areas and broken windows in mind. After watching his son and a friend hit a perforated golf ball with a broomstick handle, he designed a larger ball that made it easier to throw curves and sliders and had a local factory make them. It was such a hit among the local kids that Wiffle Ball went into production in 1953. The rest is history.

The lowdown: With Wiffle ball, play can be serious or silly, with nary a broken window in sight. For more information or rules, visit www.wiffleball.com.

The game: Boules or petanque

The goods: Three steel balls per player, plus one beechwood target ball, called a cochonnet (coe-sha-NAY)

The drill: Two teams of one to three players try to get their boules, heavy metal balls, closest to the cochonnet. Serious boules players divide themselves into two categories: pointers and shooters. Pointers are able to place their boules in the most favorable distance to the cochonnet, while shooters either knock their teammates boules closer to the cochonnet or knock the opposition away from the cochonnet.

The court: Boules can be played on any terrain. Championship courts measure 15 meters long by 4 meters wide.

The origins: Similar to bocce, petanque or boules evolved from ancient Greek and Roman games, according to the Federation Petanque U.S.A. The modern game originated in France in the early 20th century and has a strong following among people of French descent who live in the United States.

The lowdown: La boules est tres amusant! For more information, visit the Federation Petanque U.S.A. at www.usapetanque.org.