Quoits is older than horseshoes and was, for centuries, the more popular game. Both come from the same impulse: throw a ring at a pin. Today they have diverged completely. Horseshoes became the precisely specified sport of the National Horseshoe Pitchers Association. Quoits, in its lawn form, became a rope-ring game you can set up on a patio.
The comparison
Side by side
| Horseshoes (NHPA) | Lawn quoits (Triumph) | |
|---|---|---|
| Distance | 40 ft between stakes | 21 ft between pins (tournament) |
| Footprint | About 48 x 10 ft | About 25 ft of length |
| Projectile | Steel shoe, up to 2 lb 10 oz | 6.5 in sisal rope ring |
| Target | 1 in stake, 15 in above ground | 9 in pin on a wooden target |
| Ground | Clay or sand pit, dug | None — targets sit on the lawn |
| Scoring | Ringers and near shoes, cancellation | Ringer 3, on the platform 1 |
| Governing body | NHPA | None |
| Permanence | A landscaping decision | Packs away — targets stack |
The pit is the real difference. Horseshoes needs a clay or sand pit at each end, because a 2-pound steel shoe landing on hard ground bounces unpredictably and far. That makes it a permanent feature of a yard. Quoits needs nothing: the wooden targets sit on the lawn and stack away afterward. The 25-foot quoits length above is our arithmetic — 21 feet between pins plus room to stand — not a published figure.
The case for horseshoes
Where horseshoes wins
- A permanent court. If you want a pit that becomes part of the yard, horseshoes rewards it — how to build a horseshoe pit.
- A real sport. The NHPA publishes every dimension, so a backyard court can be genuinely correct.
- The clang. A steel ringer on a steel stake is one of the great sounds in yard games.
Full page: horseshoes, and the metal question in cast iron vs drop-forged horseshoes.
The case for quoits
Where quoits wins
- No pit, no digging. It packs away.
- Children nearby. A rope ring hurts nobody.
- A shorter yard. 21 feet between pins fits where 40 does not.
Full page: best quoits set.
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
St. Pierre Professional Horseshoe Set
St. Pierre
Drop-forged steel shoes built to the NHPA's published weight limit, which is the one spec that decides whether a shoe behaves like a competition shoe.
Skip this if
Skip this if children will be anywhere near the pits. A 2 lb 10 oz steel shoe thrown 40 ft is the most dangerous object on this website.
FAQ
Questions people actually ask
What is the difference between quoits and horseshoes?
Is quoits easier than horseshoes?
Is quoits safer than horseshoes?
Do quoits and horseshoes score the same way?
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
Horseshoes
40 feet between stakes, a built clay or sand pit, and a 2 lb 10 oz weight limit straight from the NHPA.
Comparison
Cast iron vs drop-forged horseshoes
Both materials make a legal 2 lb shoe; one chips on a stake strike and one deforms.
Guide
How to build a horseshoe pit
Every published NHPA dimension for a backyard court, in the order you need them.
Comparison
Cornhole vs horseshoes
The 33-foot court you carry out against the 48-foot court you dig in permanently.
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.