Tailgating Ideas

I credit the folks over at Snake Eyes Yard Dice for taking a chance and letting the creative juices flow.  An idea so simple, to some may be odd, but with an end result of fun.

As with previous free product samples I was a bit skeptical when Dave approached me to review the Snake Eyes Yard Dice.  I quickly reviewed the product on their website and my initial thought was that the large dice looked kind of cool but how could they possibly be any fun for an adult?  Would my friends be cracking jokes instead of having a good time?  Well it turns out I was wrong once again (ask my wife and she will tell you that I am wrong all the time!).

So what is so great about the Snake Eyes Yard Dice?  Well for starters, the game comes in a cool little carrying sack.  The sack is an instant conversation starter when you arrive at the tailgate or BBQ or outdoor party.  This was the case for me this past Saturday when I brought the game to my buddy’s house for an afternoon / evening  BBQ in his back yard. 

When you open the sack, you see six large wooden dice.  Your first question will be, “what am I supposed to do with these over-sized dice?”  That answer is simple because the Snake Eyes Yard Dice comes with a card listing the instructions / rules for 10 different games.  Note, some games are child friendly while others are best suited for an afternoon of drinking with the friends. 

On Saturday we played two of the games, “Desperate to Drink” and “Sixes.”  To no one’s surpise each of these games were drinking games.  And no worries, the instructions are simple enough that as you continue to drink you will still remember how to play the game!

A quick summary of the “Desperate to Drink” game….

• Grab 3 – 6 people.
• Have each person select a different number between 1 -6.
• Each person rolls a die until his / her number appears (with a maximum of 5 rolls).
• When you roll your number you take a drink (we added the rule that the length of the drink is 5 times your number; if your number is 5 then you would drink for 25 seconds)
• If after 5 rolls you don’t roll your number you get to make up a rule that the other players must follow for the remainder of the game.  The two rules that we came up with were that every time a six is rolled everyone playing the game drinks a beer for 30 seconds and every time a 1 is rolled the person to your right has to take a shot!

A quick summary of the “Sixes” game…

• Line up 6 cups and number the cups.
• Fill each of the 6 cups with beer.
• Grab one of the dice.
• Roll the dice and whatever number is rolled you drink from that numbered cup.
• You continue rolling until you roll the number of an empty cup.  You then pass the die to the next person.

As you can see there are no true winners and losers in these games.  The Snake Eyes Yard Dice games just adds entertainment to an outside event.  The games are really not much different that your typical card drinking games, but the dice bring a new fun to an event.  You are enjoying the outdoors, sharing some laughs and a good buzz with good friends, and can use your imagination to think up your own dice games.

The only down side to Snake Eyes Yard Dice is that they are not really made for the tailgating parking lot.  The wooden dice are designed for grass. not concrete.  But as an added bonus, the dice can also be used to make decisions around the house.  When my wife and I are stuck on a decision (i.e. who has to do a certain chore) we grab a die and roll.  The one who rolls the lower number is the loser (unfortunately I have been washing a lot of dinner dishes lately)!

So if you are looking for a new type of fun (or another reason to drink on the weekends) at your next outdoor party I definitely recommend checking out the Snake Eyes Yard Dice website for additional product details, game ideas, and ordering information.

Popularity: 33%

You remember playing paper football back when you were a kid, right? Wish there was a game on the market that took the rules and game play of paper football but made it more realistic and designed for tailgating? Introducing Tailgate Shootout.

As you can see from the above photo, tailgate shootout consist of a football field layout, foam football, goal posts and a carrying bag. The object is to kick the football to slide it along the football field layout to score a touchdown. Much like in paper football, you can kick an extra point. However, unlike paper football, instead of flicking the “ball” through your buddy’s thumbs and index fingers, you actually kick it between miniaturized goal posts. The playing field is heavy duty and the imprint is printed on the bottom of the vinyl in order to protect the finish from friction of the ball and the players’ feet. The playing surface is also in compliance with the Consumer Product Safety Commission for ages 6 years and older. It also passed all harmful chemicals testing and hazards test. Check out the video demo the makers of Tailgate Shootout put together.

I was sent a sample of Tailgate Shootout and really enjoyed playing it. It brought back fond memories of playing paper football as a kid but was bigger, better and more realistic. Field goal attempts are easy enough for kids but hard enough for adults who may have had a few adult beverages. As you saw in the video, there is always an opportunity to kick a field goal and players don’t always have to go for the touchdown. How’s that for putting strategy and clock management into the old paper football game?

Tailgate Shootout is truly a new concept in tailgating games that takes an old favorite and makes it more realistic and improves upon it. Tailgate Shootout is available online now and is just in time for football season. The complete game set that includes the playing field, football, goal posts and carrying bag is $99 plus shipping. The makers of Tailgate Shootout are so confident you will like their game they even offer a 100% customer satisfaction 30 day guarantee.

To learn more about Tailgate Shootout or to buy a game set of your own, visit: TailgateShootout.com

Popularity: 33%

When I originally started this tailgating blog in August 2007, it was in reaction to searching for tailgating information and only finding websites willing to sell me something. On top of that, it was never anything good. The websites out there offered the same old, same old, folding chairs, pop-up tents and the same tailgating grills you see in hardware stores, Target or Wal-Mart. Nobody was out there sharing information, doing tailgating gear reviews, discovering new tailgating games and just in general offering a voice of the tailgater. It’s been a fun three year ride and I have no plans of slowing down. But I do have some news to share with you.

For the past few months I have been feverishly updating our sister site, Shop.TailgatingIdeas.com. Although it has not been stocked 100% completely with all of the tailgating gear that I believe any tailgater would want, it has enough to cut the ribbon and open the doors to the public.

But wait! Didn’t I just tell you that I started TailgatingIdeas.com because I was sick and tired of only finding websites willing to sell tailgaters gear? Doesn’t opening up an online tailgating store make me a sell out and no better than the rest of those other guys? That could be the perception. The reason we have opened up Shop.TailgatingIdeas.com is to make finding that cool and unique tailgating gear much easier because most of the products are not found anywhere else.

Over the years, makers and manufacturers of tailgating items have sent me samples and asked for my unbiased opinion on their product and how it translates to a real-life tailgating environment. I have been brutally honest and at times warned tailgaters to avoid buying the product at all costs. On the other hand, when the product meets all the requirements we as tailgats look for in tailgating gear, I have typically offered it for sale here on TailgatingIdeas.com via Google Checkout. More often than not, this website and the manufacturer’s website are the only two places on the web or any physical stores for that matter, where that product is available for purchase. By offering it for sale here, we were giving tailgaters another outlet to buy the product that would help them not just tailgate, but to tailgate better. Where else would you find something like the Tailgate Couch, BoomCooler or a Tow Hitch Kegerator?

By centralizing all the products that you will probably not find in stores or any other places online, makes it easier on you, the tailgater, to find that unique tailgating gear you have been wanting. With easy to navigate categories and a spot-on search function, if you look for it on Shop.TailgatingIdeas.com and can’t find it, they probably have not invented it yet. Also, TailgatingIdeas.com will be reserved strictly for articles and posts about tailgating. If we review a tailgating product that you would like to buy, we’ll either link you to the product page on Shop.TailgatingIdeas.com or to another retailer, typically the manufacturer’s website.

So with the upcoming football season rapidly approaching, you are bound to need to replace something in your tailgating arsenal. Before you get sucked into buying something from Home Depot or Target yet again, checkout our online tailgating store. Chances are you will find something you didn’t know was out there but you’ll definitely want to get before football season starts.

Popularity: 44%

Last night I was at the Phillies game.  The game was great and the fireworks after the game brought back VERY happy memories of the past July 4th weekend.  And, as always, the tailgate was great.  But the tailgate was great for a different reason this time.

Last night I went to the game with a small group of people from work and a few of their friends.  New tailgaters means new food and drinks and in the case of last night, a new tailgating game (well it was new to this tailgater and I didn’t see a previous post from Dave on it!).

The game I am talking about is KanJam.  In all, I would say the game isn’t any more exciting or fun than Ladderball or Tailgate Toss, but it was new and different so it’s a winner in this tailgater’s book.  And the idea of KanJam is so simple that, like all good, new ideas, I wish I would of come up with the game.

The pieces to the game are a flying disc and two portable goals (a.k.a. things that look like small trashcans).  Like most tailgate games the game is played as two teams of two.  Each team takes turns throwing the flying disc trying to get the disc into the portable goal until one of the teams reaches a score of twenty-one.  A team can score points by deflecting the flying disc into the top of the goal or directly into the slot on the front of the goal .  Points can also be scored by the the thrower of the disc throwing the disc directly into to the goal or slot on in the front of the goal.

There is a good “how to play” video on the KanJam website located here.  You can also purchase the game directly from the website or if you spend a few extra minutes on the Internet you can find the game discounted on Amazon.

In all the game was good, but not great.  As with any game that involves a Frisbee there is a lot of running around when your partner has a wild throw.  And once you starting drinking and your coordination lessens, there can be occasional pain when the disc hits you the wrong way on your body as you attempt a deflection.

But again,  it’s something new, the games leads to a few good laughs as you foolishly try to make deflections, and you don’t have to worry about any broken car windows or car dents from a wild throw.  As an added bonus, if you become really good you can enter KanJam leagues and tournaments to win prizes and some cash (just check out the website).

Out of 5 stars, this tailgater gives the KanJam 3 stars!

Popularity: 28%

Is it just me or did it seem as though March was a month full of tailgating gear and game reviews? If you have been napping for the past month or this is your first visit here, here is what you missed.

The Bottle Cap Caddy -- Tailgaters are always misplacing or losing the bottle opener. Having a big, bulky key chain bottle opener is not practical either. Last month we discovered the Bottle Cap Caddy. A bottle cap opener that not only affixes to your cooler or other surfaces but has a handy rubber catch area to grab the opened caps and prevent them from falling on the ground.

A single Bottle Cap Caddy is $9.99 plus $3 flat rate shipping. Each Bottle Cap Caddy comes with the stainless steel bottle opener, two stainless steel screws, the double sided tape on the back of the opener and the EPDM rubber holder that catches the caps. Getting a Bottle Cap Caddy means never having to ask, “who has the bottle opener?”.

My Pole-ish Horseshoes -- Tired of cornhole, washer toss or even beer pong? You may need to check out My Pole-ish Horseshoes. It’s a tailgating game that actually requires you to drink while playing it. An improvement on the old Polish Horseshoes, My Pole-ish Horseshoes travels well, sets up easily and speeds up game play. Catch the video of it being played.

You can buy your own set of My Pole-ish Horseshoes directly from TailgatingIdeas.com. My Pole-ish Horseshoes cost $65 plus $13 shipping. Choose from Red or Blue game poles when placing your order.

The Keg Stool -- Now you can turn those empty kegs into something useful. Turn them into bar stools.

As you can see in the above photo, The Keg Stool turns any American full size keg shell (15.5 gallon san key type D) into a 32″ bar height cushioned bar stool. The seat even swivels and has a foot rest just like a regular bar stool. The best part is that this a separate kit that you install on your own old keg shell without doing any damage to the keg shell itself.

The Original Keg Stool kit includes stool top, foot rest and all necessary hardware. The Keg Stool Complete comes with the stool top, foot rest, hardware and a decommissioned, empty keg. The Original Keg Stool costs $99.99 with $20 flat rate shipping. The Keg Stool Complete is $199.99 with $40 flat rate shipping. Get a Keg Stool and you are sure to be the talk of the tailgating parking lot.

MyKornhole Boards -- Simply stated, MyKornhole Boards are regulation cornhole boards with one major variation. They are made of corrugated cardboard and are easily recycled when finished. Also, because they are cardboard and can fold flatter that wooden cornhole games, they save room in your tailgating vehicle. See the video for how quickly they set up.

Chilly Twist Cups -- Spring is here and it is time to start thinking about keeping your drinks cold. Ice dilutes your drinks and can koozies can only do so much. I recently discovered Chilly Twist Cups which not only keep your drink cold but can actually chill your beverage to a lower temperature than it started. All this can happen while you are holding it. Check out the video.

Right now Chilly Twist Cups are available for an introductory price for any 1 cup at $4.50. Three cups (mix & match) for $11.99 and 6 cups (a matching set or mix & match) for $19.99. You can buy the Chilly Twist Cup by visiting chillytwiststore.com or for more information and to view all the color combinations, visit chillytwist.com.

Popularity: 10%

Have you ever played Polish Horseshoes while tailgating? Sadly I had never heard of this game until recently. Now that I have discovered it, I am a bit upset that no one introduced it to me sooner. Thankfully I discovered My Pole-ish Horseshoes which has taken regular Polish Horseshoes and perfected it to speed up the game and made it more fun. (Click pictures below to see larger image and detail.)

Typically, Polish Horseshoes is played by setting up two poles apart from each other, placing a bottle or can on top and the teams take turns throwing a Frisbee at the opposing team’s pole/can/bottle to score points while the defending team tries to catch the Frisbee and the falling can or bottle. All this is done with one hand while holding a beverage in the other. Sounds fun right? Well, yes but the game needed some improvement. Enter My Pole-ish Horseshoes.

The part that needed improvement was traditionally a ski pole would act as the pole holding up the can/bottle. Two problems with this is: 1) you need grass to jab a ski pole into the ground and it can not be played on concrete or asphalt. (That’s bad for tailgating seeing how most parking areas around stadiums are asphalt.) 2) If you tailgate on grass and the ski pole does get hit, it normally would knock it out of position and players would have to reposition it, thus slowing down the game. My Pole-ish Horseshoes eliminates both those problems. It utilizes a sturdy base that can be placed on any surface and does not have to be reset if the pole is hit. Also, My Pole-ish Horseshoes comes apart easily so it does not take up a bunch of room in your tailgating vehicle. Take a look at two videos of My Pole-ish Horseshoes in action.

Here are the official rules and how to play My-Poleish Horseshoes:

The object of the game is to throw the Frisbee and knock a can off the pole while holding a
12-ounce beverage can in one hand at all times during the game.

1. My Pole-ish Horseshoes is played with two teams of two people.
2. Place MPH poles 30 feet apart or a desired distance.
3. Place a 12-ounce beverage can on top of each pole.
4. Each team takes a turn throwing the Frisbee. The throwing team is the offensive team and the team catching the Frisbee is the defensive team. Team members switch back and forth with their partners every time it is their turn to throw.
5. When throwing the Frisbee you must stand behind your pole.
6. The defending team only has to catch the Frisbee when the throw is within one step left or right of the two people defending. If the two defending people have to jump to catch the Frisbee they don’t have to catch it. No points are awarded when the throw is out of range.
7. Throw the Frisbee and hit nothing – but the other team catches the Frisbee – the offensive teams gets no points.
8. Throw the Frisbee and hit nothing – but the other team drops the Frisbee – the offensive team gets a single point.
Throw the Frisbee and hit the pole, and the can falls off, the offensive team gets two points.
If the defensive team catches the Frisbee or the can – but not both – the offensive team gets one point.
Should the defensive team catches both the Frisbee and the can, the offensive team gets no points.
9. Throw the Frisbee and hit the can off the pole, you get three points. If the defensive team catches the can or Frisbee but not both the offensive team gets two points. If the defensive team catches both the can and Frisbee, the offensive team gets one point.
10. If the offensive team throws the Frisbee short of the pole, the defensive team gets a penalty shot. A penalty shot allows the defensive team to take a shot from where the Frisbee landed.

The winner is the team that first reaches 11 or 21.

If you are looking for a tailgating game that is not the same cornhole, washer toss or ladder golf games you have seen all over the tailgating parking lot, you should give My Pole-ish Horseshoes a try. And who can argue with a tailgating game where it is in the rules that you HAVE TO have a beverage in your hand at all times? Sounds “Tailgate Approved” to me.

You can buy your own set of My Pole-ish Horseshoes directly from our online tailgating store, Shop.TailgatingIdeas.com. My Pole-ish Horseshoes cost $65 plus $13 shipping. Choose from Red or Blue game poles when placing your order. Buy My Pole-ish Horseshoes from Shop.TailgatingIdeas.com.

Popularity: 36%

Cornhole at a tailgate party is a staple. You’d be hard pressed to take a walk through any tailgating parking lot and not see someone tossing bags at a cornhole board. The problem with standard cornhole boards is they can be big, bulky, heavy and take up too much room in your car. If you are willing to sacrifice “authentic” cornhole play for something more lightweight and takes up less space, MyKornhole might be for you. (Click on images to see full size.)

As you can see in the photos, MyKornhole boards are made of heavy duty corrugated cardboard with slots and flaps to fold into a cornhole game board. The boards, when fully assembled, measure 4′ x 2′ just like a regulation competition cornhole board. The design on the top comes in three choices, Blue & Orange, Black & Gold and Blue & Red.

Now the folks at MyKornhole are quick to point out that these cornhole boards are not a replacement for your regulation cornhole boards that are made with wood, glue and screws. MyKornhole boards are merely a fast and convenient option for easy set-up and take down. They can easily be recycled making them one less thing you have to pack and haul home after the tailgate is over. Also, since the boards are shipped unassembled and flat, the box of two MyKornhole boards take up about half the width inside your vehicle compared to two wooden cornhole boards. Take a look at this video of the boards being assembled and some game play.

I had a chance to sample a pair of MyKornhole game boards and I was quite surprised at how well they performed. After all, think about it. You are essentially playing cornhole on a folded box.

The first thing that I noticed is that when the cornhole bag lands on the MyKornhole board, it tends to bounce. It doesn’t bounce high, but there was a definite bounce. Also, I tested the MyKornhole boards on both a hard surface (asphalt) and a softer surface (grass). Seeing how asphalt and grass are the two most common surfaces you will find people tailgating on I figured this would be an adequate test.

On the hard surface, the MyKornhole board tends to “scoot” as a result of the bag impact. So if you are a stickler for having the distance between the two boards remain consistent, this will drive you nuts. After all eight bags were thrown, I would estimate the board probably moved back about six inches. So you may want to use a piece of chalk and mark the ground along the front end of the board and replace it after each round of bags. The MyKornhole boards performed much better on grass. There was noticeably less bounce upon impact and there was very little scooting of the board on grass. Here’s an additional video to see the MyKornhole boards fully assembled.

A set of two MyKornhole Game Boards will cost you $19.95. A set of bags are not included in that price but can be added to your order during the checkout process. Eights bags will cost you $9.95 and bag colors correspond to the available board color options, Blue & Orange, Black & Gold and Blue & Red.

The folks at MyKornhole want their product to get in the hands of real tailgaters so they gave me a set to give away to one of my readers. So if you would like one of your own MyKornhole boards for free, all you need to do is pay for the shipping. (Because of the size of the box, shipping will be around $19 to go UPS or FedEx.) Leave a comment below telling me you would like the MyKornhole game boards for free (comes with black and gold bags) and we’ll send you either a Google Checkout or PayPal invoice to pay for the shipping. Indicate whether you prefer PayPal or paying via credit card in your comment. Good luck.

To learn more about MyKornhole game boards or to buy a set of your own, visit mykornhole.com

Popularity: 30%

Just because February is the shortest month of the year does mean there was a shortage of tailgating gear and games to discover this month. So let’s get right to it and let you know what you may have missed.

GoPong Beer Pong Table -- Just when you thought you have seen every type of beer pong table out there on the market, along comes the GoPong beer pong table. So what’s so special about the GoPong beer pong table? It’s the same quality as the other major beer pong tables but nearly half the price.

This a regulation 8′x 2′ hard top, aluminum framed beer pong table that folds up into a 2′ x 2′ briefcase for easy storage and transport. The GoPong beer pong table comes in one design, the black and white design you see pictured above. If that is the only thing holding you back from getting one,  we suggest you use Skinit.com Tailgate Packs to customize these tables to your team’s colors and logos. (See our demonstration video on the GoPong product page.)

So what’s the price? How does $74.95 plus shipping sound? Compare that to other beer pong table manufacturers who price their tables in the $129.99 range. And trust me, the GoPong table is made in the same factories as those other tables so you know the quality is the same. You can buy your own GoPong beer pong table from TailgatingIdeas.com for $74.95 +$25 shipping. That’s less than $100 delivered right to your door.

Cooler Coozies -- You wouldn’t bring beer to a tailgate without bringing along a can coozie supporting your favorite team, would you? So why would you bring a cooler to that same tailgate party in the color the manufacturer picked out for you? Now you can wrap your cooler in a Cooler Coozie. It’s a stretchable wrap screened with your favorite team’s colors and official logo that you wrap around your cooler. With different sizes to fit all sorts of coolers, they are bound to have one that will fit your old ice chest. No need to buy a new cooler for next season. Just wrap it in a Cooler Coozie. Here is a video we did out in Las Vegas for the Sports Licencing & Tailgate Show.

Pong University Customized Beer Pong Balls -- February 2010 was not the month we discovered Pong University Beer Pong Balls. We originally learned about Pong University back in June 2008. So why are they part of the 2010 gear in review series? Because they have undergone a change in ownership/management since then and have revamped the company and the quality of their products. Here is a sample they sent me to demonstrate the high quality and attention to detail they now employ.

As you can see the detail on these custom printed beer pong balls is of a high standard. Pong University has a newly redesigned website and offers custom printed and blank beer pong balls. They also require no minimum quantities, colored balls are available and they only use high quality 40mm seamless balls.

The Fan Can Hand -- Have you ever wanted to have a can coozie show your team spirit from yards away? Those regular coozies just don’t show off you level of fan support unless you are right next to another person. The Fan Can Hand accomplishes that goal while being functional and keeping your drink cold.

The Fan Can Hand is a molded drink coozie that is in the shape of an oversized human hand. Think the Incredible Hulk’s hand holding a beer. And since the Fan Can Hand comes in a number of color combinations, you’re sure to find a style that supports your team’s colors. Check out the video we shot while out in Las Vegas for the Sports Licencing & Tailgate Show.

Popularity: 21%