These two are the small-footprint end of the throwing family, and they get compared because they cost about the same and pack down to about the same size. What separates them is that one is a published game and the other is a published object.
The spec sheet
The published figures
| Ladder toss | Ring toss | |
|---|---|---|
| Throwing distance | 15 ft | Not published |
| Footprint | About 20 ft x 8 ft | Whatever you decide |
| What you throw | 6 bolas with real golf balls | 4 rope rings |
| Target | Three-rung wooden ladder | One target with 5 scoring towers |
| Scoring | Rungs score 3, 2, 1; play to exactly 21 | By tower, values differ |
| Players | 2 or 4 | 1 to 4 |
| Carry | Nylon carrying case | Carrying case included |
| Published age floor | Not published | Not published |
In play
What that difference means
Ladder toss is a proper game with an endgame
Exactly 21, bust back if you go over, and bolas heavy enough to wrap a rung rather than bounce off. The published 15 feet means two sets play the same game — see ladder toss sets and the rules.
Ring toss is the most flexible thing here
No published distance is a weakness on a spec sheet and a strength in a mixed-age yard: you put the target where the youngest player can reach it. Five towers of different values is a genuine risk-reward decision — see ring toss sets.
They also fail differently
Ladder toss bolas are the part that goes missing, since they are six small objects with golf balls on them. A ring toss target is one solid piece of pine with the rings stored on it.
The other side
Where to buy the other one
The card at the top of this page covers one side of the comparison. This is our current pick for the other, ranked on published specifications rather than on play we have not done.
Best overall
GoSports Premium Wooden Ring Toss Game
GoSports
One solid pine target carrying five scoring towers of different values, four rope rings and a carrying case — the smallest real throwing game on this site and the only one a three-year-old can play properly.
Skip this if
Skip this if you want a game adults will keep choosing. Five towers at close range is a genuine skill test for a child and a warm-up for an adult; nobody plays ring toss for two hours.
FAQ
Questions people actually ask
How far apart is ladder toss?
What distance is ring toss played at?
Which is better for young children?
Why you can check our work
We have not played these. Every figure above is copied from a manufacturer's published listing or a governing body's published rules, and named so you can verify it. Where a maker publishes nothing, the field is blank rather than filled in. How we pick explains the whole method, including what would change a recommendation.
Read next
Related pages
Picks
Compare yard games
Twenty-one head-to-heads with the verdict first and the published specs behind it.
Picks
Ladder toss
Roughly 20 by 8 feet, a 15-foot toss line and exactly 21 to win — the game for yards cornhole cannot fit.
Picks
Best ring toss game
Five scoring towers, four rope rings, and the only game here with no minimum footprint.
Comparison
Kan Jam vs ladder toss
Goals 50 feet apart against a 15-foot toss — seven times the area for a better contest.
Picks
Best yard games for toddlers and preschoolers
The four games that work under five, and the published age floors that actually exist.
Sources
Every figure on this page is copied from one of these sources. If you find one that is wrong or out of date, tell us and we will fix it.