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.