Rules of Skittles Pool Game
- This version of skittles is common in Leicestershire, Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire. The main part of the game is the playing alley, which is 33 to 36 feet long, six feet wide, and divided into two sections: The first section, about 25 feet, is a rough surface, and the rest of the alley is made of something smooth like wood. Pins are about 13 inches high, made of wood, and are thinner at each end than in the middle. One skittle, the kingpin, is about two inches taller than the others. They are arranged 20 inches apart at the end of the alley, and the kingpin is set at the front of the group. The "cheeses"--the objects that are thrown at the pins--are three-pound ovals, the shape of which allows them to bounce in a way a regular ball can't.
Each player has three tries to throw the cheese in each turn. If the pins are all knocked over after the first or second throw, they are reset so the player can throw his final cheese. However, points are not scored until the kingpin is knocked over. The cheese can only bounce once in the wooden area of the alley, and not at all in the rough area. If any pins are knocked down during a turn when the cheese bounces twice, bounces off a wall, or bounces in the rough area, they are reset and do not count for points.
The game is played in "legs," and each player gets one turn per leg. Highest score of the leg wins, and the first player to reach a set number of victorious legs wins overall. - West Country Skittles is the most common version of skittles in England. To play, you will need nine skittles--each measuring ten inches high, four inches in diameter around the middle and two inches in diameter at the ends--and a ball, approximately five inches in diameter. A "kingpin," which is slightly larger than the other skittles, may also be used as a 10th pin, placed either in the middle or at the front of the group of skittles. The game is played on a six-foot-wide surface of wood, and the throwing line should be 24 feet from where the skittles are placed.
Players are divided into two teams, and this game, too, is played in "legs." Each player gets one turn in each leg, and the team whose total points is highest at the end of the leg wins that round. Generally, a target number of legs is chosen at the beginning, and the first team to win that amount of legs is the overall winner (first team to win 11 legs, for example). If single players are playing, the winner can be determined by an amount of legs, like in the group version, or a winning point total can be set (first to get to 100 points wins, for example).
Place the skittles in a square shape, so the edges are each pointed at a side of the table and at the thrower. Each player gets three tries to roll the ball at the skittles, and points are scored for each skittle that is knocked down. If all pins are knocked down at once, or if they are all down at the end of the second turn, the skittles are reset for the final throw. In the variation utilizing the kingpin, no points count unless the kingpin is knocked down. - Killer is a game that uses skittles accoutrements but can be played by any number of people. It's similar in idea to the basketball game "HORSE."
Each player is given a number of "lives," usually three or five, and must play with their nondominant hand (right-handed players use their left hand, and vice versa). The first player throws at the skittles, and the second player must beat the first player's number of downed pins. If the player does not beat that number, he or she loses a life. The third player must beat the second player's number, and so on. The last player left in the game is the winner.
