Best Tailgating Games

Tailgating combines the best things that men love: sports, food, drinking, and games. (Where are the women?) Tailgating games have evolved over the years, from card games and tiddlywinks in our grandparents’ generation to the games we know and love today. But what exactly are the best tailgating games today? Let’s look at the top three.

Cornhole

Cornhole is the king of tailgating games. Although it’s been around since the 19th century, Cornhole has seen a resurgence in the United States over the past 20 years. There are now cornhole leagues and cornhole tournaments in just about every state.

The game itself is simple. Two wooden platforms are placed on the ground 27 feet apart from each other. Each one has a hole in it and the backside of the platform is raised one foot off the ground. Opposing players or teams stand opposite each other and throw beanbags at the platforms. A bag in the hole is worth three points and a bag on the platform is one point. The first team or player to 21 points wins.

Beer Pong

Mandatory Disclaimer: Drink Responsibly

Alcohol has always been a part of tailgating, there’s no denying that. Adult beverage aficionados are always coming up with new and inventive ways to consume their favorite beverages. Shots, beer bongs, and shotguns are popular at parties, but tailgaters prefer the beer pong table.

Beer pong started out (not surprisingly) on college campuses, with Dartmouth College credited as being the inventor back in the late 1950s. The game is played by placing cups with beverages on either end of a table, usually in a triangle formation. Players or teams stand at either end and attempt to throw a ping pong ball into the opponents’ cups. If the ball goes into a cup, the cup is removed from the table and the opponent has to drink the contents. The first player or team to clear their opponent’s cups wins.

The game was originally played on ping pong tables, but now there are official beer pong tables, cups, balls, and more. There is even an official beer pong tournament called the World Series of Beer Pong (WSOBP).

Ladder Toss

Ladder toss is the newest of our games on the list. It has only been around since the 1990s. It’s thought that it was originally played on campgrounds. The first patent for a “Ball and Ladder Game” was filed in 2002.

Ladder toss (also known as ladder ball) consists of two ladders with three rungs each. The rungs are usually colored. The players or teams toss balls known as “bolas”. The bolas are two rubber balls attached by a string. The goal of the game is to wrap the balls around the rungs of the ladder.

There are different ways of scoring the game. The traditional way is one point for the top run, two points for the middle rung, and three points for the bottom rung because it’s the hardest shot to make. The first person or team to 21 points wins. Another way to score, which makes the game go faster, is to score the top rung three points, the middle two, and the bottom one point. Also, if a player or team gets all three rungs during one game it counts for 10 points.