Ladder golf is a throwing game designed to improve hand-eye coordination.

The game is turn-based. In the first round, the oldest player goes first, followed by the second-oldest, and so on. In subsequent rounds, the player in the lead goes first.

When it is a player’s turn, they throw their three bolas one after another at the ladder from a distance of about 5 meters—ideally so that they wrap around the rungs and get stuck. Caution—your own bolas can be knocked down or wrapped around by subsequent players.

Once all players have thrown in the round, points are awarded. Points are only awarded for bolas that are still hanging on the ladder at the end of the round.

• A bola on the top rung is worth 3 points,
• 2 points for a bola on the middle rung, and
• 1 point for the bottom rung.
• If all three of a player’s bolas are hanging on the ladder, they receive an extra point.

Bolas that were hanging on the ladder at one point but then fell off do not count. Additionally, bolas that are wrapped around an opponent’s bola are not counted.

Each player can therefore score a maximum of 10 points per round (three times the top rung + one extra point). The points scored in each round are added together. 

The goal of the game is for the player who has exactly 21 points at the end of a round to be the winner.

• Exactly 21 points must be reached!

If you exceed the target score of 21, you receive 0 points for the current round. A player who already has 17 points and now throws 5 points must therefore start again at 17 points in the next round.

If a player is the only one with 21 points after a round, they have won and the game is over.

If multiple players have 21 points after a round, these players continue playing until one of them has a lead of at least 2 points after completing a round. That player then wins the game.