You'll Like This New All-Family Game

You'll Like This New All-Family Game FARM HOME recreation 15-3-5 Do your family, friends and relatives a favor ù introduce them to "Bean Bag Horseshoe," a new backyard game that's fun and challenging for "kids" of all ages. We first learned about the new game at a neighborhood pig roast, hosted by Ardyce Potter who works in FARM SHOW's circulation department, and her husband Wally. Guests stood in line, waiting to play the new game. Every-body played ù men against men, women against women, wives against husbands, and sons and daughters against parents and grandparents. "Bean Bag Horseshoe" is a lot like regular horseshoes, except that players toss bean bags instead of steel horse-shoes, and the target, instead of a stake, is a slanted wooden box with a hole in the top. First step is to build two wooden slant-top boxes (one for each end of the court) like the one pictured. You can use most any scrap lumber but 3/4 in. plywood works best. Make each box 2 ft. wide, 4 ft. long, 4 in. high in front, and 12 in. high in back. Cut a 6.5 in. dia. hole in the slanted top, positioning it so its center is 12 in. from the back or "high" end, and 12 in. from either side of the box. Sand and then varnish the slanted top surface of the box to make it smooth and slippery. No need to put a bottom in the box. Next step is to make eight bean-filled bags. Make them out of two 9 in. square pieces of denim sewed together and filled with 1-3/4 lbs. of soybeans. Seal the beans inside a plastic "baggie" to keep them dry when playing on wet grass. (If the beans get wet they'll sprout and swell up.) Make four bags of one color, and four of another so they can be easily identified for scoring. You're now set to play the game. Place the boxes about 35 ft. apart (for adults) and test your skill at tossing the bags so they land in the hole, or stop on top of the box. Score 3 points for each "ringer" (entire bag in the hole) and 1 pt. for each "hanger" (bag stops on the box surface but doesn't drop into the hole). If you and your opponent each throw a ringer, and no hangers, the points cancel and nobody scores. If you throw one or more hangers and your opponent scores a ringer, his ringer cancels your hangers. Chalk up 3 for him, none for you. If you throw one ringer and two hangers, and your opponent scores a ringer only, the ringers cancel and you get two points for the hangers. The first player or team to score 21 points wins. With a bit of practice, you'll soon discover ways to put "English" on the bag to keep it from sliding off the slippery box surface. You'll also discover early on that wives tend to get the hang of the game faster than husbands, and teenagers generally beat parents but not grandparents. This is what makes the game exciting. Everybody, regardless of age can play and win ù without a lot of practice or throwing experience. What's more, the game is safe to play with toddlers around. If it rains, you can play the game in the machinery shed, or down in the basement. Make the boxes "collapsible" and you can put them in the car trunk to take along on vacation, or to the next family reunion or picnic.

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