Ladder toss is the least fashionable game on this site and the one we recommend most often, for a boring reason: it fits. At roughly 20 by 8 feet it needs less than a quarter of a cornhole court and less than a seventh of a full croquet lawn. That means it works on a patio, in a side yard, on a deck, in a garage with the door open.
It also has the shortest teaching time of any game here. Throw a bola underhand at a ladder; if it wraps a rung you score. There is no scoring system to explain before people can start, which at a party is worth more than any amount of strategic depth.
Published spec
The rules that matter
| Element | Specification |
|---|---|
| Toss line | 15 ft from the ladder |
| Footprint | About 20 x 8 ft |
| Bolas | Six total, three per player, two balls joined by a cord |
| Top rung | 3 points |
| Middle rung | 2 points |
| Bottom rung | 1 point |
| Turn order | A player throws all three bolas before the next player |
| Winning score | Exactly 21 |
Like Kan Jam, the exact-21 rule is what saves the game from being a straight accuracy contest. Sitting on 20 and needing a single bottom-rung wrap while your opponent needs three is a real situation and it happens constantly.
Full rules with the common variants: ladder toss rules.
How to choose
What separates a good set from a bad one
Frame material
PVC tube frames are the cheap standard and they flex. A flexed ladder drops its top rung out of plane, which is exactly the rung worth three points. A finished wood frame stays rigid, and it is the single upgrade worth paying for here.
Bola mass
Real golf balls, not hollow plastic. Mass is what makes a bola wrap instead of bounce. Yard Games publishes real golf-ball bolas on its wooden set, which is the reason it tops our list.
Wind
This is the game's real weakness. A ladder frame is a sail with a small footprint and no ground stakes, and a gusty afternoon will lay it flat. If your yard is exposed, plan to weight the base or pick a ground game instead — see weatherproof yard games.
Cross-check
Fits your yard, fits your crowd
- Small yards — ladder toss is the anchor of that list.
- Patios and balconies — with a shortened toss line, this is one of very few games that works on hard standing.
- Mixed ages — underhand throwing and a waist-height target narrow the gap between a child and an adult.
- Cornhole vs ladder toss — the direct comparison, if you are choosing your first yard game.
The picks in full
Every pick, with its published specs
Best overall
Yard Games Ladder Toss (Double Wooden Ladder Ball)
Yard Games
Our spec score
7.8/10
- Spec completeness
- 6/10
- Footprint clarity
- 8/10
- Durability
- 8/10
- Pack-down
- 8/10
Scored on published specifications only. We have not played this set.
A finished wood frame with real golf-ball bolas and a nylon case — the version that does not rattle apart the way tube-and-plastic ladder sets do.
Skip this if
Skip this if you need the set to stand up in wind. A wooden ladder frame has a big sail area and no ground stakes.
What works
- Golf-ball bolas have real mass, so they wrap a rung instead of bouncing off
- Wood frame stays rigid where PVC flexes and drops the top rung
- About 160 sq ft of lawn — one of the smallest footprints on the site
What does not
- No published weight or packed dimensions
- Wooden ladders blow over in a breeze
Published specifications
- Footprint
- About 20 ft x 8 ft (about 160 sq ft)
- Toss distance
- 15 ft
- Scoring
- 3 top rung, 2 middle, 1 bottom; first to exactly 21
- Bolas
- 6, real golf balls
- Frame
- Finished wood
- Case
- Durable nylon carrying case
- Players
- 2 or 4
- Set weight
- —
Source: Derived from the commonly published 15 ft toss line plus a ladder and standing room at each end
Source: Commonly published ladder toss rules
Source: Commonly published ladder toss rules
Source: Yard Games product listing
Source: Yard Games product listing
Source: Yard Games product listing
Source: Commonly published ladder toss rules
Not published by the manufacturer.
Manufacturer listing: Yard Games product listing
FAQ
Questions people actually ask
How far apart is ladder toss?
How do you score ladder toss?
Are golf-ball bolas better than plastic ones?
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
Toss & target games
Cornhole, Kan Jam, ladder toss and horseshoes — long narrow courts that fit a strip of yard.
Picks
Best cornhole boards
Five regulation sets ranked on published surface thickness, frame construction, weight and bags.
Guide
Ladder toss rules
Rung values, the 15-foot line and the exactly-21 finish — with the common house variants.
Picks
Best yard games for small yards
Five games that fit under 30 feet of clear run, with published footprints for each.
Comparison
Cornhole vs ladder toss
33 feet and 38 pounds versus 20 feet and a nylon bag — the first-yard-game decision.
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.