A lawn game is an outdoor game that can be played on a lawn. [1] Many types and variations of lawn games exist, which includes games that use balls and the throwing of objects as their primary means of gameplay. Some lawn games are historical in nature, having been devised and played in different forms for centuries. Some lawn games are traditionally played on a pitch (sports field). Some companies produce and market lawn games for home use in a front or backyard.
The lawn game bowls (lawn bowling) dates back to the Middle Ages period in England. [2] Many local forms of round ball throwing and rolling games, such as bocce in Italy and bowls in England became popular by the Renaissance. [2] It has been suggested that bowls itself likely originated from Ancient Rome, in a game played by Roman soldiers that involved rolling a ball "as close as possible to mark on the ground". [2]
Many types and varieties of ball games exist. [3] [4] Several cultures have created forms of ball games. [3] For example, the Maya and Aztec peoples played a ball game using a rubber ball. [3] The Yanoama people in northwest Brazil played a game using a ball made from the bladder of a monkey, in which the ball would be hit upwards by participants, who would play the game in a circle. [3] Bocce is typically played on a bocce court, [5] and involves rolling a ball on the ground in efforts to place it near a smaller ball. [6] Bowls involves rolling a ball toward a smaller target ball to make the rolled ball stop as close as possible to the target. [2] Croquet involves hitting wooden or plastic with a mallet through a series of hoops. [7] Croquet became popular in England in the 1860s. In the United States, the game is governed by the National Croquet Association, which coordinates annual tournaments. [7] Several variations of the game exist. Pétanque is a form of bowls [8] and boules where the goal is to throw hollow metal balls as close as possible to a small wooden ball called a cochonnet (literally "piglet") or jack, [9] while standing inside a circle with both feet on the ground. Pétanque has been described as "the world's most played form of bowls". [8] Backyard golf is a game played in the United States that involves elements of golf. [10] Golf balls [10] or whiffle balls may be used, and targets may include lawn furniture, buckets and tree branches, among others. [10] Sholf is a game that is a cross between table shuffleboard and golf. Players take turns putting golf balls into scoring zones printed on a putting green. [11]
Throwing games involve throwing various objects as the primary form of gameplay.
Bowls, also known as lawn bowls or lawn bowling, is a sport in which the objective is to roll biased balls so that they stop close to a smaller ball called a "jack" or "kitty". It is played on a bowling green, which may be flat or convex or uneven. It is normally played outdoors and the outdoor surface is either natural grass, artificial turf or cotula.
Bocce, sometimes anglicized as bocce ball, bocci or boccie, is a ball sport belonging to the boules family. Developed into its present form in Italy, it is closely related to British bowls and French pétanque, with a common ancestry from ancient games played in the Roman Empire. Bocce is played around western, southern and southeastern Europe, as well as in overseas areas with historical Italian immigrant population, including Australia, North America, and South America, principally Argentina and the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. Initially played just by the Italian immigrants, the game has slowly become more popular with their descendants and more broadly.
Croquet is a sport that involves hitting wooden or plastic balls with a mallet through hoops embedded in a grass playing court.
Pétanque is a sport that falls into the category of boules sports, along with raffa, bocce, boule lyonnaise, lawn bowls, and crown green bowling. In all of these sports, players or teams play their boules/balls towards a target ball.
Boules is a collective name for a wide range of games similar to bowls and bocce in which the objective is to throw or roll heavy balls as closely as possible to a small target ball, called the jack in English.
Boccia is a precision ball sport, similar to bocce, and related to bowls and pétanque. The name "boccia" is derived from the Latin word for "boss" – bottia. The sport is contested at local, national and international levels, by athletes with severe physical disabilities. It was originally designed to be played by people with cerebral palsy but now includes athletes with other severe disabilities affecting motor skills. In 1984, it became a Paralympic sport and as of 2020, 75 boccia national organizations have joined one or more of the international organizations. Boccia is governed by the Boccia International Sports Federation (BISFed) and is one of only two Paralympic sports that have no counterpart in the Olympic program.
A tailgate party is a social event held on and around the open tailgate of a vehicle. Tailgating, which primarily takes place in the United States and Canada, often involves consuming alcoholic beverages while barbecuing and grilling food. Tailgate parties occur in the parking lots at stadiums and arenas, before and occasionally after games, festivals, and concerts. People attending such a party are said to be 'tailgating'. Many people participate even if their vehicles do not have tailgates. Tailgate parties also involve people bringing their own alcoholic beverages, barbecues, food, etcetera. which is sampled and shared among fans attending the tailgate. Tailgates are intended to be non-commercial events, so selling items to the fans is frowned upon and can even be considered illegal soliciting. Tailgating is often seen as a critical part of the sports experience in the United States. Because many American sports venues are surrounded by large parking lots, tailgating often takes place right outside stadium and arena entrances.
Lawn bowls at the 2005 Southeast Asian Games took place in the Hidden Vale Sports Club in Angeles City, Philippines.
Pétanque at the 2005 Southeast Asian Games took place in the Hidden Vale Sports Club in Angeles City, Philippines.
Bolas criollas is a traditional team sport from Venezuela, very popular in the Llanos and most rural regions. It is one of the most representative icons of Llanero culture. Its origins can be traced back to traditional European boules sports, such as bocce and pétanque.
Backyard golf is a lawn game played in the United States. The game is very similar to golf; however, it uses fewer clubs. The balls are wiffleballs that are often covered with electrical, duct, or masking tape. The courses typically consist of one central hole location where different tee boxes constitute different "holes." Most courses have nine holes, although larger yards have been known to have 18 or 36 holes. The game is very easy to play as it requires minimal technical skill. The large size of the ball and short distance of the holes make backyard golf conducive to casual play.
Cherokee marbles, or five hole is a traditional game among the Cherokee people of the United States, in which players roll small stone balls between five shallow pits dug into a playing field. Today, the game is commonly played with billiard balls. The game may be played in individual or team play, and in this century, has been introduced into the curricula of students attending schools in the Cherokee Nation. There is also a national tournament held annually during the Cherokee National Holiday.
Trucco is an Italian and later English lawn game, a form of ground billiards played with heavy balls, large-headed cues sometimes called tacks, a ring, and sometimes an upright pin. The game was popular from at least the 17th century to the early 20th century, and was a forerunner of croquet, surviving for a few generations after the introduction of the latter.
Ground billiards is a modern term for a family of medieval European lawn games, the original names of which are mostly unknown, played with a long-handled mallet, wooden balls, a hoop, and an upright skittle or pin. The game, which cue-sports historians have called "the original game of billiards", developed into a variety of modern outdoor and indoor games and sports such as croquet, pool, snooker, and carom billiards. Its relationship to games played on larger fields, such as hockey, golf, and bat-and-ball games, is more speculative. As a broader classification, the term is sometimes applied to games dating back to classical antiquity that are attested via difficult-to-interpret ancient artworks and rare surviving gaming artifacts.
Summer Sports: Paradise Island is a sports video game developed and published by Destineer for Nintendo's Wii. The game was released in North America on April 15, 2008.
Bocce volo, or boule lyonnaise, is a boules-type game.
Throwing sports, or throwing games, are physical, human competitions where the outcome is measured by a player's ability to throw an object.
