Sometimes I feel like I’m the last person to find out about things. Perhaps this is because I came from a household that didn’t have a color tv, VCR or microwave until the late 1980s. (I’m still not sure how my cell phone works.) Whatever the reason, I made yet another new/old discovery last week at a family cook-out. Fortunately for me, there was no technology involved here – just good old-fashioned fun.

As we visited outside, I noticed the children excitedly gathering around a dad who was in the midst of setting up some kind of lawn game – Ladder Ball. “Is it new?” I asked, only to get several of those “Sure, if you’ve been living in a cave for the past 20 years” looks. Turns out that Ladder Ball has been around for years, but is enjoying a resurgence in popularity with several new versions on the market.

Ladder Ball involves the tossing of short stretches of rope weighted with balls at both ends to ladder-like goals. The aim is to throw them in such a way that they wrap around the rungs of the goal. Points are scored depending upon which rung your rope lands on. While the skill level might be more appropriate older children—say 6 and up—many of the younger children had a great time trying, and all the children were able to reach some level of accomplishment.

My few words of caution might be about the rope/ball combo that gets thrown. It resembles things you might see getting whipped around in a martial arts movie, and could hurt if it hits a human target. Adult supervision is a probably a good idea as the ropes can get tangled. But, this shouldn’t be too much of a problem since the game is appealing to grown-ups as well (at least the ones that I know!) The plastic tubing that makes up the ladders can be a little flimsy, and needs to be firmly secured. If you prefer something sturdier, Sportscraft also makes a “classic” wooden version.

All in all, it’s an entertaining way to get everyone in the family outside for some summer fun.

Now, I understand that they’ve got these “moving pictures” nowadays. Perhaps I’ll review one of those next.