Teach Kids How to Play Horseshoes

With just a few items, you can teach your children how to play horseshoes in the backyard with these simple kid-friendly rules.

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Horseshoes is similar to cornhole and ring toss. It’s a fun backyard game that doesn’t require much setup. You can also easily customize it to your kids’ skill level.

For very young kids, you may want to set up the spikes closer together. Mark on the ground how close the horseshoes need to be to earn a point.

You may also want to mark the area where kids will stand to throw. This will prevent disagreements about one player standing closer than the other.

If you have them, placing a hula hoop around each spike gives little kids a great goal.

Liquid sidewalk chalk is handy for marking grass and washes away when you’re done playing.

How to play horseshoes

Horseshoes is an old game that’s been played for over 100 years. The rules have changed many times, so we’re sharing a simple kid-friendly version.

Kids’ horseshoes set

Traditionally, players use real metal horseshoes and spikes. For kids, an inexpensive plastic set is perfect.

We have this game set. If you can’t stick the plastic spikes into the ground, this game set has rubber mats that hold the spikes on any surface.

Horseshoes setup

Start by sticking the stakes into the ground 40 feet apart (about 12 meters). You can use a tape measure to be precise or use footsteps for a good estimate (most shoes are close to 10 or 11 inches).

If you’re playing with very young kids, you may want to place the horseshoe spikes closer together.

Backyard horseshoes rules

Horseshoes are thrown underhand one at a time. To play, the first person stands at one spike and tosses their horseshoes toward the opposite spike. Then the second person stands at the other spike and tosses their horseshoes toward the first person’s spike.

Tally the points for the round, then pick up the horseshoes. Players swap sides and take turns tossing again.

The gameplay continues until one person reaches 21 points.

How to win at horseshoes

The goal is to get your horseshoes around the spike or as close as possible.

• A horseshoe within 6 inches of the spike is 1 point
• A horseshoe leaning against the spike is 2 points
• A horseshoe that rings around the spike, eg. lands on the ground with the spike inside it, is 3 points

Add up the points each round until one person reaches 21. If both players reach 21 points in the same round, the score is tied and they play a tiebreaker round.

Once your kids have learned how to play horseshoes, you may want to add rules. In traditional adult horseshoes, only the player whose horseshoe is closest to the spike earns points on each round. Additionally, if both players throw a ringer, they cancel each other out and nobody gets points.

Horseshoes is a deceptively simple game that requires some skill to throw. It’s easy to learn how to play and makes a great backyard game to keep kids entertained.

More fun ideas from Backyard Summer Camp:

• 21 Backyard Games You Can Make and Play
• 15 Epic Balloon Games For Non-Stop Fun
• Pogo Stick Games for Kids to Play Outdoors