Although we just flipped the calendar to the month of July, football season and more importantly, tailgating, will be here before you know it. In the interest of testing out and reviewing new products and tailgating games prior to the 2013 football season we discovered another new game that is guaranteed to be something nobody has seen in the parking lot. It’s called Power Prop Toss and it combines elements of cornhole, washers and it’s own rules and game play.
At first glance Power Prop Toss looks a lot like washers except the playing surface is not the traditional wooden box. The Power Prop Toss playing surface is actually hard plastic and is actually two pieces that fit together. This makes it easy to transport to the tailgate party and the box it comes in includes a carrying handle to make it even easier. Game play is pretty easy and is well suited for tailgaters of differing ages.
First set up the game base, sometimes called the Boat because of the pointed end on the front and the flat rear. The tossing line is 10 feet from the tip of the pointed end of the base. Each player chooses a set of colored discs called props. There are four props of each color and there are three props with three blades and one with four blades. The four bladed prop is called the “power prop”. Think of the power prop as the money ball in a three-point shooting competition in basketball where the points scored are doubled.
The object of the game is to score 31 points exactly without going over. You score points by tossing your props into the numbered holes and as mentioned previously, the power prop scores double. The first player throws all four of their props before the next player throws. The throwing player can throw their props in any combination they choose and can throw the power prop at any time during their turn. Leave the props where they landed until all players have thrown all their props. Props that are knocked into scoring holes by others players score the same had they landed there by the player tossing them.
If a player throws their prop into a hole and a following player throws their prop into the same hole, the points are canceled. The player that scores the most points in that round will throw first in the next round.
To win the game, a player must score 31 points exactly. A unique scoring aspect of Power Prop Toss is that if you do go over 31, the points you scored in that round will be subtracted from the score you started the round with. Example: Player A has 28 points to start the round and scores five points in that round. This would give Player A 33 points and thus sending them over 31 points. The five points are then subtracted from the score of 28 that they started the round with and they start the next round of tossing with 23 points.
Another unique scoring aspect is that you must score 31 points exactly with no props remaining. If player A needs to score two points to reach 31 and does in fact score two points on their first toss, Player A must hit or land their remaining props on the base or no points will be awarded in that round. Many times in cornhole when a team has reached 21 points and there is no chance the other team can overtake them, their remaining bags are thrown well short of the board to ensure victory. In Power Prop Toss, players must throw accurately enough to hit the base but not score any more points to avoid going over.
After playing with Power Prop Toss a few times we are going to deem it “Tailgate Approved”. The portability is a major factor in this being a great tailgating game. It breaks down easily and sets up quickly as well. I had it out of the box and put together and ready for game play in less than 30 seconds. I also liked the fact that it is a good game for all ages and each player can toss the props in their own unique way. The base is rugged and can withstand a number of seasons of tailgating and is weather resistant. Most wooden cornhole boards or washer toss games if it starts to rain or snow you need to get them out of the weather quickly so they will not warp. Power Prop Toss you can leave out in the rain shower and once it passes go back to playing.
Power Prop Toss is available on Amazon for $90 to $100 depending on which vendor you choose.