free printable
Skittles Rules Card
A one-page skittles rules card: how to play, how to score, and how to set it up. Hit print, fold it, and keep it with your set. Want the full walkthrough? See the Skittles rules.
LAWNLEAGUES.COM
rules card Skittles
Players2 to 8 (or teams)
Ages5+
Setup5 min
SpaceA flat lane about 15 to 21 ft for lawn play
What you need
- A skittles set: nine wooden pins (and usually two or three wooden balls or a cheese)
- For lawn skittles, a flat lane of grass roughly 15 to 21 ft long
- For table skittles, a skittles board or table with a swinging ball on a chain or string
- A throwing or bowling line marked with chalk, a rope, or a board
- A scorepad to track each player's running total over the agreed number of rounds
Scoring
- Each pin knocked fully flat scores one point
- You score the total pins you topple across all your balls in a turn (traditionally three balls per turn)
- A pin that leans or rocks back upright does not score; it must come to rest flat
- Clearing all nine pins early lets you reset the diamond and keep throwing remaining balls for bonus points in most house rules
- Play a set number of rounds or frames; the player or team with the highest total at the end wins
- Knocking the front pin alone (the 'king' or middle pin in some sets) is worth extra in certain regional versions, so set this house rule first
How to play
- Set up the nine pins. Stand the nine pins in a tight diamond or square (three rows is common, or a 3-3-3 diamond), spaced about a hand's width apart, at the far end of the lane. The exact pattern varies by region, so agree on your diamond before you start. In table skittles, the pins sit in their fixed diamond on the board.
- Mark the throwing line. Set a line where players will stand to bowl or throw. For lawn skittles this is usually 15 to 21 ft from the pins. Step over the line and the throw does not count. In table skittles, you stand at the end of the board and swing the ball.
- Take your turn. On your turn you get a set number of deliveries, traditionally three balls per turn. For lawn skittles you roll or underarm-throw the ball at the diamond. For table skittles you swing the ball on its chain around the post to knock the pins, trying to clear as many as you can.
- Count the pins you knock down. Each pin that falls flat scores one point. Count the pins you topple across all your balls in the turn. A pin that only leans or wobbles back upright does not count. Reset the fallen pins between players unless you are playing a clear-the-frame variant.
- Clear the frame for a bonus. If you knock down all nine pins before using all your balls, in many house versions you reset the full diamond and keep throwing your remaining balls for extra points. This rewards a clean sweep and is where big turns come from.
- Play the agreed rounds and total up. Rotate through all players for a set number of rounds (commonly best of three turns, or a fixed number of frames). Add up each player's pins across every round. The highest total wins the match.
Set it up
For lawn or garden skittles, set the bowling line roughly 15 to 21 ft from the diamond of pins, then keep everyone throwing from the same fixed line. Shorten it to 8 to 10 ft for young kids so they can reach the pins. Table skittles has no throwing distance at all: you stand at the end of the board and swing the ball on its chain or string around the post to strike the pins.