The Rules of BlongoBall

The number of ways these rules may be altered to suit personal tastes is limited only by one's imagination. Some examples of modified rules are:

• * Have each player throw all of their team's bolas, one at a time, before the next player takes a turn.
• * Make each player choose on which side of the ladder they will stand, and they will stand there every time they throw.
• * Have each player throw all of their team's bolas, add up the score, and remove the bolas before the next player takes a turn.
• * Set a time limit for games.
• * The team with the highest total score at the beginning of each round could throw first.

Points Per Bola
Scoring depends on the location of the bolas at the end of each round. Each rung is assigned a point value, and each bola's points are added to the team's score. Bolas that miss do not score points.

The bottom rung is often deemed the easiest to score on, since it is common for a bola to drop from one rung onto a lower one. Also, a bola thrown short will sometimes bounce onto the bottom rung. Landing on the bottom rung is awarded one point.

The top rung is the next in difficulty, since the strategy of using a high arc to drop directly onto the ladder will most often score there. Landing on the top rung is awarded two points.

The middle rung is the hardest to land on, so it is awarded the highest point value. Landing on the middle rung is awarded three points.

Landing a bola on a rung includes many configurations, the most common of which is to have the cord over a rung with a ball on either side. Bolas bouncing off the ground do count in scoring. As long as a bola is supported by a rung, it scores.

One possible way for a bola to land is to have a bola wrap around a bola that is already on the ladder. Both bolas are considered to be supported by the same rung and score the point value of that rung.

• * If that second bola has one ball on either side of the next rung down, it scores points from both rungs.
• * If that second bola is touching the ground, a ruling will be needed regarding whether the second bola is being held up by the first. If the ladder is not staked down, one resolution could be to lift the ladder.

Winning

Play continues until the round where at least one team's score reaches or passes twenty-one. The team with the highest score at the end of that round is the winner.

In the case of a tie, play additional rounds with all of the teams involved in the game. When a round ends with one team having a higher score, that team is the winner.

Scoring Variations

Varying Rung Values
The value of each rung can be altered. As described above, the point value of each rung is often, from top to bottom,
* 2, 3, 1

Instead, the point values could be
* 1, 2, 3
* 3, 2, 1
* 15, 25, 10
* Assigned by the roll of dice

Awarding Bonus Points
Additional points can be awarded for:

• * Landing all bolas on the same rung
• * Landing one bola on each rung
• * Missing the rungs, but landing a bola inside the rectangle formed by the base of the ladder

For example:
Red Team scores five points in a round when the team score is eighteen. Since their score would go to twenty-three, five points are subtracted from the team score, making their score thirteen.

Cancellation Scoring
During games with only two teams, one alternative scoring method is cancellation scoring. The team winning each round would only add on the difference between the scores. (The lower score of each round is subtracted from the higher score.)

For example:
Purple Team scores six points in a round where Blue Team scores five. In cancellation scoring, Purple Team only adds one point to their team score and Red Team's score remains unchanged.

* A different style of cancellation scoring can be used for any number of teams, looking at individual bolas. If all teams have a bola on the same rung, one bola from each team is removed. The values of the remaining bolas are then added to their team's score.

For example:
Green Team lands one bola on the middle three-point rung and two bolas on the two-point rung. Orange Team also lands a bola on the two-point rung, but the other two land on the one-point rung. Yellow Team has all of its bolas on the top two-point rung. Each team removes a bola from the two-point rung. There are no other three-way matches. Green Team adds a three-point bola and two-point bola for five team points; Orange Team has two one-point bolas for a total of two team points, and Yellow Team has two two-point bolas to get four team points.