Classic British pub games

British pub games were designed for small rooms, cheap equipment and long evenings, which is exactly why they still work at home.

Twenty below with the rules, from darts to shove ha'penny. Several make excellent party games if you've got a table and a bit of patience.

Throwing games

• Darts (501) - start at 501, subtract each throw, finish exactly on a double. The national pub game.
• Around the clock - hit 1 to 20 in order. The best way to learn darts without losing badly at 501.
• Killer - each player is assigned a number, hit your own double to become a killer, then take lives off everyone else.
• Cricket (darts) - score on 15 to 20 and the bullseye, close each number by hitting it three times.
• Ring the bull - swing a ring on a string onto a hook. Ancient, simple, mysteriously addictive.
• Skittles - nine pins, a wooden cheese thrown underarm. Still played in Somerset and the Midlands.

Table games

• Shove ha'penny - slide five coins up a marked board, three in each bed to win. Pure skill.
• Bar billiards - a table with holes and mushroom pegs, on a timer. Knock a peg over and you lose your break score.
• Bagatelle - a sloped board with pins and pockets, ancestor of pinball.
• Table skittles (Devil among the tailors) - a ball on a chain swung round a post at nine tiny pins.
• Toad in the hole - throw brass discs into a hole in a lead-topped table. Sussex's own game.
• Pool (English 8-ball) - reds and yellows, two shots on a foul, black last. The pub standard.

Card and dice games

• Cribbage - the classic two-player pub card game with a pegging board. Fifteen-two, fifteen-four.
• Dominoes (fives and threes) - score when the ends divide by five or three. Still league-played across the north.
• Nomination whist - bid how many tricks you'll take, score for accuracy. Excellent for four to six people.
• Shut the box - a wooden box of numbered flaps, roll two dice, close matching numbers.
• Play your cards right - higher or lower with a deck. No skill, all shouting.

Quiz and social games

• The pub quiz - six rounds of ten, one picture round, one music round. The correct format, no debate.
• Play your joker - one round doubled, declared in advance. Every good quiz has it.
• The meat raffle - not a game exactly, but a national institution.
• Higher or lower with the till roll - the improvised game every quiz falls back on.

Playing them at home

• A dartboard and a cribbage board cost less than one night out and last twenty years.
• Shove ha'penny works on any smooth table with five 2p coins and chalk lines.
• Six rounds of ten questions is the right length for a home quiz - about ninety minutes with a break.
• Prizes should be daft: a badge, a bar of chocolate, a tin of something. Never money.
• Write the winner and date on the back of a badge. It becomes the trophy for the year.

Shop party supplies

Bits for the party

Banners, cake toppers and confetti that are actually in stock.

Cards for the occasion

Blank inside, designed in house, posted first class.

How to write it so it lands

• Cribbage is the best two-player game for a quiet night in - twenty minutes a game.
• For a home quiz, write the answer sheet before the questions. It halves the arguments.
• Keep prizes small and silly. Big prizes make people competitive in the wrong way.

Where to shop next

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• Playground games we all played
• Classic British pub games
• Family card games
• Rainy day activities
• Garden games for a party
• Growing up in the 80s and 90s
• Nostalgic quiz questions
• Party supplies
• Work party ideas
• Celebration ideas
• Planning the party? Birthday party ideas
• How to make a balloon arch
• Photo booth prop ideas

Frequently asked questions

What is the most popular British pub game?

Darts, followed by pool and dominoes. Cribbage is still the most widely played pub card game in the UK.

How do you play shove ha'penny?

Slide five coins up a board marked with nine beds, aiming to land three coins in each bed. Coins that land on lines don't count.

What's the right format for a pub quiz?

Six rounds of ten questions, including a picture round and a music round, with a joker round that doubles your score.