You can move the ladders closer together to make it easier or further apart if you want to make it more of a challenge.
Variation: Instead of doing a coin toss, you could have a “shoot-off” to determine the first player. Take turns throwing all of your bolas at the ladder across from you. Whoever has the highest score gets to go first for the game.
If you ever cross the uprights when you throw a bola, it won’t count for any points.
You can bounce bolas off of the ground to land them on the rungs. If you’re playing in teams, only 1 team member will toss bolas each round. If it’s not your turn to throw, stand back from the ladder so you aren’t hit with a bola on accident. Variation: Alternate between you and the other player after each toss to add a little more tension to the game.
Example: You have bolas on the top and bottom rung. Your opponent landed 2 on the middle rung and 1 on the top rung. They would earn 7 points (3+2+2) and you would earn 4 points (3+1). Variation: Play so the points cancel each other out and only 1 player scores each round. For example, if you had a bola on the top rung and your opponent had 2 on the bottom rung, then you would only earn 1 point (3 points from your bola minus the 2 points from their bolas). [7] X Research source Some ladder ball sets have score trackers on the uprights so you can easily see how many points you have.
If you’re playing in teams, your teammate will throw bolas for the next round.
If both players or teams earn 21 points on the same round, then continue playing overtime rounds until 1 player or team is ahead by 2 or more points. Variation: If you want an even worse penalty, drop your score back down to 11 or 13 if you accidentally go over 21 points. That way, it’ll be more of a challenge to catch back up, but you still there’s still a chance to win.
You can earn 10 points at most each round if you get all 3 of your bolas on the top rung.
