Toad in the Hole Game Rules

Origins

Toad in the Hole (Toad) is an ancient game once played by the Pharaohs who believed it was a gift from the Gods. Some believed it was from Ra, the sun God - with the brass coin representing the sun, and the process of scoring and retrieving the coin representing creation and the afterlife.

Some believe it was from Heqet, the frog goddess - with the process of scoring and retrieving representing childbirth. It is said to have been played by Egyptian embalmers, who would toss coins from across the chamber trying to land them perfectly on the eyes of their dead customers, which brought great joy to an otherwise morbid and tiresome process.

But whatever the origins, it has been passed down from civilisation to civilisation, stretching across the globe. You’ll find Toad everywhere, but mainly only in Lewes, Brighton and Worthing in Sussex.

Terms

Toad - short for Toad in the Hole, the game you are about to play.

Toad - the coin you are about to throw.

Toad - when you throw a toad into the hole, this is called a toad.

Lead/Top/Surface - the piece of lead with a hole in it that you’re throwing coins at.

Backboard - the vertical wooden backboard behind the lead.

Drawer - the drawer that you retrieve toads from if your aim is true.

Table - the whole object: legs, lead, drawer, backboard.

Oche - the line you stand behind to throw your toads.

Basic Rules

There is no limit to the amount of players that can take part in a singles game of Toad, aside from the size of the scoreboard or score-pad. However, the more players in a singles game, the slower the game is. If you have many players, it is usually better to create a mini tournament with multiple shorter games.

A game with 10 beginners will take well over an hour, maybe two, but if you’ve got nowhere to be and this is the plan… enjoy!

Another alternative is to create teams of 2-4 players and take turns to throw within the teams.

Scoring

1 point for landing a toad on the lead and 2 points for a toad (getting it in the hole). 

Scoring is from 31 down, so each player starts with 31 points and each score will knock points off.

The winner is the first player to get exactly zero points.

If a player scores more than 31 points, that is a bust and no points are scored for that turn - ie if a player only requires 2 points to win and they score 3, this is a bust, no score and play continues.

Play

A coin is tossed to decide who throws first. Or a throw nearest to the hole.

The first player throws two toads, the second three toads and thereafter, four toads are thrown each turn.

Any toad which hits the backboard or falls to the floor does not score. However, such a dead toad can influence the score of another toad – eg by knocking it into the hole to increase its score or by knocking it into the back or off the table so that it doesn’t score.

Once the score required to win is 3 or less, a player may only play as many toads, in their turn, as points required. So if 2 points are required to win at the start of the turn, only 2 toads should be thrown for that turn. Not all toads have to be used when throwing for a finish.

Always collect your own toads after your throw. There should always be four toads, so if a player has thrown one into a nook or cranny, the game can’t commence until it's located. There is no better drive for perfection than lying on a pub floor trying to retrieve a toad from under a piano. 

You can nominate a scorer or each player writes their own scores on the board.

Some players like to add additional information like the score of the turn, the remaining points and even a little ‘T’ if they get a toad. This sort of information can help if there is a tie in a tournament, or help backtrack if the scoring goes awry due to beverage-based anomalies.

When a player gets down to 8 points remaining, circle the score to show how awesome they are, but also to indicate that the player could win on their next throw. As the maximum a player can score is 8, they need four toads to win. Circle each score thereafter.

Mark a line if the player has no score for their turn so that the scoreboard is easy to follow.

Here is an example of how to set your game up. Use the chalk and blackboard on the shelf and ask the bar for some tissue to rub off the chalk from the last game.