Quoits?

Quoits (pronounced "kwaits") is a game I've known of since I was a preschooler. It was very popular in the Lehigh Valley area of Pennsylvania, just across the Delaware River from New Jersey, where I grew up.

Over the past couple of years I've discovered that hardly anyone in the south knows about quiots. With the recent growth in popularity of the corn hole game(a southern version of the common bean bag tossing game) I've been mentioning it to people I know and no one is familiar with the game.

According to Wikapedia, quoits is an old traditional lawn game that originated in England. It was brought to America in the 18th century. Today it's most popular in the Slate Belt region of Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

The quiot boards are usually crafted out of slate (see picture above), are 24 inches square and weigh about 50 pounds each. The quoits are disks made of a hard but pliable rubber, are 8 inches in diameter with a 4 inch hole in the center.

The game is played in a manner similar to horseshoes. The players stand on either side of the board and throw the quoits at the other board 18 ft away. The goal is to toss the quoit onto the hub in the center of the board. That's called "a ringer" and is worth 3 points. If no ringers are thrown the quoit closest to the hub, measured by the concentric circles on the board, scores a point. The game goes to 21.

It's a very enjoyable and social game. In Pennsylvania there are even organized leagues and tournaments. There's hardly a summer picnic or gathering where some one doesn't bring a set of quoit boards.

For quite some time now, based on the popularity of the corn hole game, I've been thinking of trying to introduce the game of quoits to the area. However because of their size and weight shipping them from the Lehigh Valley companies who make them is expensive; up to $100 for a set.

Still I'm extremely curious to see what the cultural response would be. Would quoits catch on as a game in Kentucky? If so how popular would it become? Would it be the next "corn hole"?

To find out the answer to these questions I'm going to have to be pretty committed simply because of the cost. To get a set of boards, made of composite material lighter than slate, shipped here from the Easton company who makes them will cost close to $310. I could have my family bring set with them when they come to visit in October but that would still cost me about $250.

It's an experiment that I can't quite afford right now. Perhaps one day in the future might be able to introduce my friends here in Kentucky to a game that was part of the culture where I grew up: Quoits.