After months of snow and cold temperatures, it’s finally time to break out the outdoor games. There are definitely some classics in my family; we have a beanbag tournament every summer over the Fourth of July weekend. We draw names out of a hat to pair up in partners for the tournament and try to make it all the way to the end. We use boards that my grandpa made and follow traditional scoring: in the hole is worth three points, on the board is worth one, and the first to reach 21 points wins, with cancellation scoring. It takes me a while to get the hang of the game each year, so I should probably start practicing now to get ready.

I also love ladder golf, which is similar to beanbags in that the first team to reach 21 points wins, and it also uses cancellation scoring. There are three rungs on the “ladders” for the game: the top is worth three points, the middle is worth two, and the bottom is worth one. Each team gets three sets of two golf balls connected by a string, which are called bolas. Technically, they don’t have to be golf balls, but ours are, hence why we call it ladder golf. 

My family is also really into pickleball, as many are. A complex of outdoor courts just opened up by my house, and they are already so busy. People line up outside the courts and rotate in as people leave, and it stays full all night when it’s warm out. I am really excited to see everyone getting outside and playing games this summer.