Game for Toads

How to play

The rules of Toad

Toad in the Hole is a Sussex game, centred on Lewes. You toss four brass toads at a lead-topped table from about eight feet, and score like darts — down from thirty-one. Remember: there’s only one rule in the Lewes league that matters, namely that the toad must fit down the hole at the beginning of the evening. Everything else — the size of the lead, the size and thickness of the toads, what it’s all made from — is part of home advantage.

2
In the hole
Down the two-inch hole.
1
On the lead
Resting flat on the top.
0
Off or back
Missed, or hit the backboard.

Finish on exactly 31

Like darts, you must land on thirty-one to the dot. Go over and you're bust — back to your last score.

Eight is the max

Four toads, two points each. A 'perfect eight' is a turn to remember.

Mind the lead

The top is real lead. It's not for children, and you'll want to wash your hands after a game.

The toader's trick

Fire past the hole so the leading edge digs in and drops the toad back down.