This was the neighborhood game of choice

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unmistakable_itch@reddit

In my neighborhood it was rumble fumble. Someone else came out bloody.

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opservator67@reddit

Nope. Played way more Lawn Darts. Everyone had them. :)

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home_dollar@reddit (OP)

I only had one neighbor with lawn darts. The game to dodge them as he threw from his 2nd story bedroom. They were confiscated

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That's hilarious! I wasn't being facetious - everyone had them. Of course, once the parents went inside, we were no longer aiming for the plastic circles. Honestly amazed how I got through the '70s without something stuck in my cranium.

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home_dollar@reddit (OP)

Probably a lot of kids near me had them, but I honestly didn't have many friends and lived in a poor neighborhood. We played a lot of free games like red light/green light, cowboys and indians, rock paper scissors and thumb wars.

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PupperoniPoodle@reddit

Ever have those moments as an adult when you realize the reason for something from your childhood was poverty? I just did now with your last sentence.

Usually mine are food based. Like still preferring less meat in my spaghetti sauce, because my mom had to stretch it.

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VodkaToasted@reddit

I'm not even sure the set we had included the plastic circles anymore, nor do I remember how the official game worked. We'd either throw them up and dodge them on the way down or throw them at each other from a distance or over an obstacle.

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opservator67@reddit

Yup, the circles were always lost fairly quickly. When the 'rents were around, it was played like horse shoes - everyone tossing the darts at the opposite circle, then traipsing to the circle, picking up the darts, and tossing them back at the other circle. Safe, in theory. Then, an hour later, the scene would deteriorate to as you described.

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Fancy_Average5440@reddit

Yep. My aunt had to go to the ER when one pierced her flip-flop-clad foot.

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BigMoFuggah@reddit

We used to hit them like baseballs. Have you ever been hit by a croquet ball line drive? 😬

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ApplianceHealer@reddit

No…but I’d like to be

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Yog-Sothoth2024@reddit

My grandma had this exact set.

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Rontunaruna@reddit

Omg my grandma had that. I loved playing croquet in her backyard.

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Candid_Albatross_271@reddit

Was your name Heather?

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jtphilbeck@reddit

I did. Just a little croquet. Send the ball through the metal bent into an upside down U. Easy peasy.

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UpStateSaints@reddit

The potential for misuse was extraordinary lmao

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shaggin_maggie@reddit

Stoop Ball was ours

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MrFutzy@reddit

Ah HAA HAA! We knew how to play, but added some severe penalties. Loser had to put their head next to the wicket and allow the winner to try to bean them with one Happy GIlmore high velocity shot.

How we survived croquet, lawn darts, and lego wars is beyond me.

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MaximumJones@reddit

gif

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ezgomer@reddit

Really? Because the first time I ever saw this was in Heathers

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singleguy79@reddit

Played this whenever I was at my grandmother's house.

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Mobile_Aioli_6252@reddit

My brother and I misused the entire set we had in the garage. The balls were thrown like baseballs, the mallets were hammers, unscrew the mallet - now you have a sword! The wire wicket things? Throw them and see it stick somewhere. We were cretins!

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Fun-Distribution-159@reddit

this is the only real reason to have a large backyard imo

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CntBlah@reddit

Right after a zesty session of lawn darts

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kckitty71@reddit

gif

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DragonflyScared813@reddit

It was full contact at our place lol.

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goosepills@reddit

Did anyone actually know how to play this? We used to just bash the balls around

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Fancy_Average5440@reddit

I remember the croquet set at my grandparents' place, but not actually playing. According to my older siblings, our grandpa -- a kind and gentle Lutheran pastor born in 1899 -- was ruthless at this game!

If your ball is right next to someone else's, you hold yours down with your foot and whack it on its side (ball not foot), sending the opponent's ball way out of the playing field. He'd do it no matter who you were! He was awesome.

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VodkaToasted@reddit

That was the only move I remember and that pretty much signaled the end of actually trying to play semi seriously.

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VodkaToasted@reddit

That was my experience, everybody had a set and somehow nobody really knew how to play. It was kinda like lawn darts, does anybody know the actual game you were supposed to be playing? We usually threw them up in the air above us and dodged them on the way down or threw them at each other from a distance / over an obstacle.

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