How to Play Pigeon Hole

By Jaques of London · Est. 1795 · Updated 2026-08-17

Pigeon Hole is a traditional British throwing game played on a wooden board fitted with a row of arched holes, each numbered with a points value. Players stand at a set distance and take turns pitching a set of discs toward the board, accumulating scores hole by hole. It is simple to learn in minutes but genuinely difficult to master, which is precisely why it holds its place in pubs and games rooms across the UK.

The appeal is immediate: there is no complex strategy to explain to newcomers, the tension of a well-thrown disc finding a high-value hole is universally satisfying, and a full game can be wrapped up in under half an hour. It plays equally well as a two-player head-to-head or as a relaxed four-player round, making it one of the most versatile pieces of kit behind a pub bar.

A little history

The origins of Pigeon Hole are not well documented, and the game's early history is unclear. What is widely accepted is that it belongs to a long British tradition of tabletop and floor-level target games found in taverns and alehouses, games in which a player pitches or slides an object toward a scored target. The name almost certainly derives from the architectural term for a small arched or rectangular aperture, which the holes in the board closely resemble. By the nineteenth century such target-hole games were a recognised feature of English pub culture, though precise records attributing a fixed date or inventor to Pigeon Hole specifically do not exist.

Setting up

1. Place the Pigeon Hole board on a flat, stable surface with the holed face angled toward the players.
2. Set the throwing line on the floor at the agreed distance, traditionally between 6 and 8 feet from the base of the board. Agree the exact distance before play begins and keep it consistent throughout.
3. Divide players into their turn order. With four players you may play as two pairs; with two or three players each competes individually.
4. Agree the target score before the first throw. The standard target is 31, but players may agree a higher total for a longer game.
5. Give each player or team their set of discs, identified by colour. Confirm no disc is missing before starting.

How to play

1. Decide who throws first, by coin toss or mutual agreement.
2. The first player stands behind the throwing line and pitches all of their discs one at a time toward the board, attempting to land each disc cleanly through one of the numbered holes.
3. A disc scores its hole's printed value only if it passes cleanly through the arch and comes to rest beyond the board. A disc that hits the board face and falls back, or that lodges in the arch without passing through, scores nothing.
4. After all of one player's discs have been thrown, note their score for that round and retrieve all discs.
5. Play passes to the next player, who throws all of their discs in the same manner.
6. Continue rotating turns, adding each round's score to each player's running total.
7. If a player's running total would exceed the agreed target exactly, that excess is not added. The player simply does not score for that disc. Only scores that bring a player to exactly the target count.
8. Some boards include a hole marked zero or a penalty hole; if the board features one, a disc through that hole subtracts its stated value from the player's running total.
9. The game continues until one player reaches the target score exactly.

Winning and scoring

The winner is the first player whose cumulative score reaches exactly the agreed target, most commonly 31. Points from each round are added to a running total after every turn. If a throw would take a player beyond the target, those points are not counted and the player's total remains unchanged for that round. A player must hit the target precisely to win; there is no gradual closing of the gap once you are within a single hole's value of the target, which is where the real pressure of the game is felt.

The fine points

The most common dispute concerns whether a disc has passed fully through a hole or merely lodged in it. The standard ruling is straightforward: if any part of the disc is still visible within the arch from the front of the board, it has not scored. Only a disc that clears the arch and lands on the surface behind the board counts. Agree this ruling aloud before the first game with new players to prevent arguments mid-session.

A second recurring question is what happens when a disc knocks another disc through a hole during play. Traditional pub rulings vary, but the most widely accepted rule is that only the disc belonging to the throwing player scores, and only if it ends up through a hole under its own trajectory. If a player's disc deflects off the board or another disc and passes through a hole by accident, it does not score. Keep a consistent house rule and state it at the start of play.

How to win more often

• Target the highest-value holes consistently rather than spreading your throws. A reliable aim at one hole beats scattered attempts at several.
• When your running total is close to the target, deliberately aim for lower-value holes to avoid overshooting and wasting a turn.
• Watch your opponents' totals carefully. If someone is one or two throws from winning, prioritise accuracy over ambition in your own turn.
• Develop a consistent grip and release rather than varying your technique between throws. Repetition builds accuracy faster than power.
• In a pairs game, if one partner is close to the target, their partner should play conservatively and avoid disrupting the board if disc-on-disc contact is possible.

Variations

Exact Bust

In this common variation, if a player's throw takes their total beyond the agreed target, their score is reset to half their previous total, rounded down. This makes the endgame considerably more tense and extends play, as a player who was nearly winning can be sent back sharply.

Team Play

With four players, split into two pairs. Partners alternate throws within each round and their scores are pooled into a single team total. The pair that reaches the target exactly first wins. This format works well in a pub setting where players of mixed ability can be balanced across the two sides.

Countdown

Instead of building up to a target, each player starts at 31 and subtracts the value of each hole they score through. The first player to reach exactly zero wins. A throw that would take a score below zero does not count for that disc, identical in principle to the standard bust rule but played in reverse.

Highest Score in Five Rounds

Rather than playing to a set target, each player takes exactly five rounds of throws and the highest cumulative score at the end wins. This variation is well suited to beginners, to situations where playing time is limited, or to larger informal groups where a fixed-round format is easier to manage than an open-ended target game.

Pigeon Hole: frequently asked questions