How to Play Toad in the Hole

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

Toad in the Hole is a traditional British throwing game played on a heavy lead-lined wooden box roughly 60 cm square, set into a pub bench or mounted on legs. Players stand at a fixed throwing line and take turns pitching flat discs, called toads, at a circular hole in the centre of the board, aiming to drop them cleanly through for maximum points.

Its appeal is immediately obvious: the skill ceiling is high enough to reward regular players, yet a newcomer can compete after one practice round. It is a fixture of Sussex and the wider South East pub scene, usually played in teams over a pint, with the satisfying clunk of a disc finding the hole doing most of the talking.

A little history

Toad in the Hole is closely associated with Sussex, where it has been played in public houses for several centuries, and it is widely documented as part of the Sussex pub games tradition. Its precise origins are unclear, but written references and surviving equipment place it firmly in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The game shares broad ancestry with a family of disc and coin throwing pastimes common across Britain and Europe, though the heavy leaded board and specific scoring conventions of the Sussex version are distinctly regional.

Setting up

1. Place the board on a firm, level surface with the hole-face horizontal and at a comfortable height, traditionally set into a bench or on a stand roughly 60-70 cm from the floor.
2. Mark or confirm the throwing line at the traditional distance from the near edge of the board, typically around 8 feet (approximately 2.4 m), though local house rules may vary.
3. Divide players into two individuals or two teams of equal numbers.
4. Give each player or side their set of toads. Where toads are shared, agree which discs belong to which side before play begins.
5. Decide the winning target score before the first throw. Twenty-one is the most common target, though 31 is used in some localities.

How to play

1. Determine who throws first by agreement, coin toss, or a single practice throw nearest the hole.
2. The first player stands behind the throwing line and throws all four of their toads one at a time at the board, attempting to land each disc in the central hole.
3. A toad must be thrown underarm or in a flat arc so it lands on the board; overarm lobbing is not permitted under standard rules.
4. After all four toads have been thrown, the second player or team throws their four toads from the same line.
5. Score the round once all toads from both sides have been thrown (see Winning for the scoring method).
6. Remove all toads from the board after scoring. Players then swap throwing order so the side that went second now throws first.
7. Continue in alternating rounds until one side reaches or exceeds the agreed target score.
8. Where toads land on top of one another, each disc is scored individually provided it is clearly resting on the board or in the hole at the end of the round.

Winning and scoring

A toad that falls cleanly through the central hole scores 2 points. A toad that remains on the surface of the board without going through the hole scores 1 point. Toads that miss the board entirely score nothing. Cancellation scoring is standard in most pub settings: only the side with the higher score in a round takes points, and only the net difference counts. For example, if one side scores 6 and the other scores 4, the winning side takes 2 points for that round and the other side takes nothing. The first side to reach or pass the agreed target, usually 21 points, wins the game. In some house rules, a player must reach the target exactly, with any score that would exceed the total being forfeited for that round.

The fine points

The most common dispute concerns toads that balance on the rim of the hole without falling through. The standard ruling is that a toad must have completely passed through the hole to score 2 points; any disc resting partially on the rim scores 1 point as a board toad, regardless of how precariously it sits. Do not nudge the board to settle the question: the position at the natural end of the round is what is scored.

A second frequent argument involves toads that are knocked in or out of the hole by a later throw. A toad that is knocked into the hole by a subsequent disc does count as 2 points. A toad that was in the hole but is knocked out by a later throw scores nothing. The state of every disc at the end of the full round is what matters, not the order in which discs landed. Where cancellation scoring is in use, resolve the final positions of all toads before applying the netting calculation.

How to win more often

• Aim for a consistent flat release rather than height. Toads that arrive at a steep angle tend to bounce or flip off the board; a low, skimming trajectory drops more reliably into the hole.
• Watch your opponent's toads before your turn ends. If they have a disc sitting on the board, your final throw can knock it off while still aiming near the hole.
• Under cancellation scoring, sometimes the best throw is a safe board shot rather than going for the hole, particularly if you already have a lead in the round and just need to protect it.
• Practice the same grip and release point every time. Consistency of action matters far more than power; the board is not far away.
• In team play, agree a throwing order that puts your steadiest player last. The final throw of each round is the one that can knock opponents off and secure the net score.

Variations

Accumulation Scoring

Rather than cancellation, each side simply adds every point it scores each round to a running total. Both sides can score in the same round. This version is friendlier to beginners because no points are lost, and it tends to produce higher final scores, so targets of 31 or 51 are often set instead of 21.

Exact Finish

A player or team must land on the target score exactly to win. Any score that would take the total beyond the target is simply not counted for that round. This adds considerable tension in the closing stages and is a common rule in more competitive local leagues.

Singles Round-Robin

With three or more individual players, everyone plays everyone else in a fixed rotation. Each head-to-head contest is played to an agreed number of rounds rather than a points target, and an overall winner is determined by total matches won across the evening. Well suited to smaller pub gatherings where team play is impractical.

Three-Point Hole

Some boards feature a smaller secondary hole or a marked inner ring, and house rules award 3 points for landing a toad through that more demanding target, 2 for the standard hole, and 1 for the board. This variant rewards precision over volume and is particularly popular where the board is in good condition and regular players want an extra challenge.

Toad in the Hole: frequently asked questions