Toad in the hole is a

pub game A pub game is one which is traditionally played inside or outside a pub or bar. Most pub games date back many years and are rooted in village culture. Many derive from older outdoor sports. Pub games can be loosely grouped into throwing games, d ...

, involving throwing brass coins at a lead topped table with a hole in the middle. The game is a more refined version of the coin-throwing game

pitch penny Pitch may refer to: Acoustic frequency * Pitch (music), the perceived frequency of sound including "definite pitch" and "indefinite pitch" ** Absolute pitch or "perfect pitch" ** Pitch class, a set of all pitches that are a whole number of octav ...

. The game itself involves throwing four brass coins or "toads" from the same distance as a

dart Dart or DART may refer to: * Dart, the equipment in the game of darts Arts, entertainment and media * Dart (comics), an Image Comics superhero * Dart, a character from ''G.I. Joe'' * Dart, a ''Thomas & Friends'' railway engine character * Dar ...

board, to a square toad table, made of wooden legs and with a lead surface. If a toad goes down the hole it scores two points, or if it lands on the top it scores one point. If it hits the back of the table, or falls off it is void, so a grand total of eight points per turn can be scored. Scoring is performed in

darts Darts or dart-throwing is a competitive sport in which two or more players bare-handedly throw small projectile point, sharp-pointed projectile, missiles known as dart (missile), darts at a round shooting target, target known as a #Dartboard, dar ...

fashion, playing from 31 down. The first competitor throws two toads, with their opponent then throwing three, and from then on they throw all four, until they reach scores of less than four, wherein only the number of toads equal to the required finishing score may be thrown. Like darts, players must finish exactly - scoring more results in the player being "bust". At tournament level, participants play

best of three There are a number of formats used in various levels of competition in sports and games to determine an overall champion. Some of the most common are the ''single elimination'', the ''best-of-'' series, the ''total points series'' more commonly k ...

, and best of five in the final. The original league in the United Kingdom is based in East Sussex, and has three divisions, involving roughly 21 teams based in pubs around the county. There is also a major "international competition", run by the

Lions Club The International Association of Lions Clubs, more commonly known as Lions Clubs International, is an international non-political service organization established originally in 1916 in Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , ...

Lewes Lewes () is the county town of East Sussex, England. It is the police and judicial centre for all of Sussex and is home to Sussex Police, East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service, Lewes Crown Court and HMP Lewes. The civil parish is the centre of ...

and held in that town every year. More recently,
Brighton & Hove league
was set up in 2021, involving local pubs and venues.

International competition winners

*1995 Lewes Arms *1996 Lewes Arms *1997 Brack Mount *1998 Lewes Arms *1999 Lewes Working Men's Club *2000 CSBS *2001 Lewes Arms *2002 Swan Cygnets *2003 The Laughing Fish *2004 The Laughing Fish *2005 The Laughing Fish *2006 Old Azurians *2007 King's Head *2008 The Laughing Fish A *2009 The Laughing Fish B *2010 DCC *2011 DCC *2012 The Chalk Pit *2013 Old Azurians *2014 The Leek'y Boys *2015 The Brewers Arms *2016 Rodmell Toad Club *2017 Rodmell Toad Club *2018 Black Horse *2019 Rodmell Toad Club *2020 ''Hiatus, no contest held'' *2021 ''Hiatus, no contest held'' *2022 Black Horse

Variants in other countries

Variants of this English game are played both wider afield in Europe, for example

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

where it is known as ''juego de la rana'', the Basque Country where it is known as igel jokoa or the ''jeu de la grenouille'' in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. Outside Europe, it is widely played in

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

where it is variously known as ''juego de la rana'' in

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

and

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

, ''juego del sapo'' in

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

and

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

, ''tiro al sapo'' in

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

and

. The game is also played in

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

were it is also referred to as simply rana. A similar American game is

washer pitching Washer pitching is a game, similar to horseshoes, that involves teams of players that take turns tossing washers towards a box or hole. The game has many variations, and may be called washer pitching, washer toss, washers, ''huachas'' or washo ...

References

* Finn, Timothy: ''Pub Games of England'' (Oleander Press) ;Notes

External links

Toad in the hole in the Online guide to traditional games

El juego de la rana (Spanish)
{{Sussex Pub games Precision sports