Table Skittles, like any sport, has its own vocabulary. Here are some of the words and phrases you might hear at a match.
Away – matches are played at either the pub/club which the team is from (home) or at their opponent’s board (away).
Back – your turn to start the game is called your back (from ‘back at the table’).
Ball – 1. the ball is a small wooden oval attached by a chain to the ball. It hits the skittles down when the game is played correctly! There is no set size for the ball and it varies in weight and size considerably from board to board.
Ball (also called the throw) – 2. the throw is when a player holds the ball in one hand, and taking care that their hand doesn’t pass the post, throws the ball, so that the trajectory of the ball, when pulled back by the chain, hits the skittles exactly where they want. ‘Good ball’ means the same as ‘good throw’ in this regard.
Board - the board is the construction on which the game is played. It is also the chalkboard – or very occasionally, whiteboard – on which the scores are marked (kept).
Bust – to score more than the exact score required to get out, ie to get more than was needed to get to zero. If a players busts, then the score that existed before his or her visit to the table remains for the next player.
Chain – the chain attaches the ball to the pole by the top of each. It swivels at the top of the pole, allowing the chain and the ball to move in a circle around the pole. The ideal length for the chain is said to be that at which, if the ball is rested on the diamond, it will reach it, but just fall off from gravity. Many chains are, however, longer or shorter than this.
Doubler – when a player hits all nine skittles down with his first throw, then all the next nine with his second, causing them to be replaced for a third time. See also spare and twenty-seven.
Down – the score is counted ‘down’ from the starting point, which is normally 91. A score of 18 would leave a score of 73 for the next player and so on. This score must be reached exactly, so that if a player requires 6, and hits only 4, 2 still remains to be scored on the next visit to the table. If, unfortunately, 7 is hit, then the score of 6 would remain for the next visit.
Diamond – the raised square of wood which supports the skittles. There are nine spots arranged in a diamond formation which show where the skittles should be placed.
Flopper – a flopper is when all nine pins are knocked down in one throw.
Front – the front pin, the aim of most throws.
Full frame – all nine skittles are the full frame.
Game – the match of all twelve legs is called a game, as is each leg, and sometimes each set!
Half – a half is the score awarded to each team in the relatively rare event of a tied leg.
Hit the guts out - this refers to coming too full on to the front pin and leaving skittles either side of the diamond still standing, with no front pin to help knock them down.
Home – league matches are played at either the pub/club which the team is from (home) or on their opponent’s board (away). Cup matches are played on a neutral board.
Jiggle - another word for side shot. This involves throwing the ball sideways instead of forwards, and often involves 'jiggling' the ball so that it avoids hitting the side and failing to reach the diamond.
Know the board/shot – being able to predict where the ball should be thrown to hit the required skittles down is called knowing the board, or knowing the shot. This is very important since every board is different in terms of the size and weight of all the constituent parts.
‘Knowing the shot’ also means knowing how to hit down a certain number of skittles or a certain ‘leave,’ by aiming in the right place.
Leave – the leave is the score left after the player finishes scoring; but the same word also refers to the particular arrangement of skittles left when not all nine have been taken.
Legs – each game of 91 down in a match is called a leg. There are twelve legs in a team game.
Look at the board - check what the score is, including any balls so far thrown on your turn, to see how many points are left; this is important, as you should always be thinking about what is 'left' for your partner or your next turn.
Mark – one player, from the home team, marks the board for each pair’s games – ie records the scores as the players score them, calculating what is left. Legs are recorded on the same board.
Neutral board – one which is not the home pub or club board of either team or player.
Ninety-one down – most games consist of the attempt to get exactly 91, with each score reducing from that initial total.
Out (get out, out shot) – the ‘out’ is the score that gets you to zero. An ‘out shot’ is a shot which gets the score to zero. To ‘get out’ is one of the most difficult parts of the game, requiring, as it does, the ability to hit exactly the right score that is required, no more and no less. 5, 6 and 3 are generally considered to be easier to get out with than any other score under nine. Similarly, 12, 14 and 15 are the most secure ‘spare’ out shots.
Overcook (it) - this means throwing the ball too heavily and knocking down more than intended, or hitting the skittles more centrally on than intended.
Pins (also called the skittles) – nine small wooden skittles which are arranged in a diamond shape on the table.
Pole (or post) – the pole is the tall wooden post that connects the ball to the table. It is attached to the side of the table.
Skittles (also called the pins) – nine small wooden pins which are arranged in a diamond shape on the table.
Shot – your shot is the way you take your throw. The direction, speed and aim of the throw, combined with where you stand and how you hold the ball, combine to be your shot. ‘Finding the shot’ means working out how best to play the board – how to get the highest scores off the front, and how to make up (or clear up) the odd ones, ie, knock down the left-over pins. ‘The shot’ means the best way to get a flopper or spare on any given board – as in ‘what’s the shot on this board?’ A player who plays badly will say he ‘couldn’t find the shot’ while one who started well but then fell away will have ‘lost the shot’.
Side shot - see 'jiggle'.
Spare – a spare is scored by a player when they score more than 9 in one visit to the table, in other words, requiring all the skittles to be replaced. To get a double spare is called getting a doubler - but the best and rarest score a skittler can get is called, rather obviously, a twenty-seven.
Spots – the places on the diamond which show where the skittles should be placed. A skittle that has been knocked but not fallen over is often to be found ‘off his spot’.
Table – the table is the board on which the game is played. It also refers to the board loaded with skittles. And, of course, to the four legged piece of furniture which supports the table.
Take – to take means to knock down a pin or pins – as in ‘if you hit it right, it should take all three pins.’
Thirty-one down – some games play from 31 down instead of 91.
Throw (also called the ball) – the throw is when a player holds the ball in one hand, and taking care that their hand doesn’t pass the post, throws the ball, so that the trajectory of the ball, when pulled back by the chain, hits the skittles exactly where they want. A player’s ‘go’ consists of three throws.
Throw it away – means to deliberately miss all the skittles (probably to leave a better score for the next visit to the table). Many players simply don't throw at all in tis position, and take it as read that they could have missed if they wanted; others throw a very wide ball that misses all the skittles comfortably.
Tie – a leg can be tied if both pairs reach zero in an equal number of throws, but this can only happen in cup games. Sometimes instead of tied, the word ‘scarfed’ is used.
Toss – one person throws a coin up in the air and catches it on the back of their hand, covering it with the other hand. The other person calls ‘heads’ or ‘tails’ – if they are correct, they win. If not, the one holding the coin wins. In friendly games, the loser of a previous game normally starts the next one. This is called ‘mugs back’.
Twenty-seven – 27 is the most a player can score in one visit to the table. Twenty-sevens are few and far between.
Visit – a set of three throws is called a ‘visit’ to the table.
Away – matches are played at either the pub/club which the team is from (home) or at their opponent’s board (away).
Back – your turn to start the game is called your back (from ‘back at the table’).
Ball – 1. the ball is a small wooden oval attached by a chain to the ball. It hits the skittles down when the game is played correctly! There is no set size for the ball and it varies in weight and size considerably from board to board.
Ball (also called the throw) – 2. the throw is when a player holds the ball in one hand, and taking care that their hand doesn’t pass the post, throws the ball, so that the trajectory of the ball, when pulled back by the chain, hits the skittles exactly where they want. ‘Good ball’ means the same as ‘good throw’ in this regard.
Board - the board is the construction on which the game is played. It is also the chalkboard – or very occasionally, whiteboard – on which the scores are marked (kept).
Bust – to score more than the exact score required to get out, ie to get more than was needed to get to zero. If a players busts, then the score that existed before his or her visit to the table remains for the next player.
Chain – the chain attaches the ball to the pole by the top of each. It swivels at the top of the pole, allowing the chain and the ball to move in a circle around the pole. The ideal length for the chain is said to be that at which, if the ball is rested on the diamond, it will reach it, but just fall off from gravity. Many chains are, however, longer or shorter than this.
Doubler – when a player hits all nine skittles down with his first throw, then all the next nine with his second, causing them to be replaced for a third time. See also spare and twenty-seven.
Down – the score is counted ‘down’ from the starting point, which is normally 91. A score of 18 would leave a score of 73 for the next player and so on. This score must be reached exactly, so that if a player requires 6, and hits only 4, 2 still remains to be scored on the next visit to the table. If, unfortunately, 7 is hit, then the score of 6 would remain for the next visit.
Diamond – the raised square of wood which supports the skittles. There are nine spots arranged in a diamond formation which show where the skittles should be placed.
Flopper – a flopper is when all nine pins are knocked down in one throw.
Front – the front pin, the aim of most throws.
Full frame – all nine skittles are the full frame.
Game – the match of all twelve legs is called a game, as is each leg, and sometimes each set!
Half – a half is the score awarded to each team in the relatively rare event of a tied leg.
Hit the guts out - this refers to coming too full on to the front pin and leaving skittles either side of the diamond still standing, with no front pin to help knock them down.
Home – league matches are played at either the pub/club which the team is from (home) or on their opponent’s board (away). Cup matches are played on a neutral board.
Jiggle - another word for side shot. This involves throwing the ball sideways instead of forwards, and often involves 'jiggling' the ball so that it avoids hitting the side and failing to reach the diamond.
Know the board/shot – being able to predict where the ball should be thrown to hit the required skittles down is called knowing the board, or knowing the shot. This is very important since every board is different in terms of the size and weight of all the constituent parts.
‘Knowing the shot’ also means knowing how to hit down a certain number of skittles or a certain ‘leave,’ by aiming in the right place.
Leave – the leave is the score left after the player finishes scoring; but the same word also refers to the particular arrangement of skittles left when not all nine have been taken.
Legs – each game of 91 down in a match is called a leg. There are twelve legs in a team game.
Look at the board - check what the score is, including any balls so far thrown on your turn, to see how many points are left; this is important, as you should always be thinking about what is 'left' for your partner or your next turn.
Mark – one player, from the home team, marks the board for each pair’s games – ie records the scores as the players score them, calculating what is left. Legs are recorded on the same board.
Neutral board – one which is not the home pub or club board of either team or player.
Ninety-one down – most games consist of the attempt to get exactly 91, with each score reducing from that initial total.
Out (get out, out shot) – the ‘out’ is the score that gets you to zero. An ‘out shot’ is a shot which gets the score to zero. To ‘get out’ is one of the most difficult parts of the game, requiring, as it does, the ability to hit exactly the right score that is required, no more and no less. 5, 6 and 3 are generally considered to be easier to get out with than any other score under nine. Similarly, 12, 14 and 15 are the most secure ‘spare’ out shots.
Overcook (it) - this means throwing the ball too heavily and knocking down more than intended, or hitting the skittles more centrally on than intended.
Pins (also called the skittles) – nine small wooden skittles which are arranged in a diamond shape on the table.
Pole (or post) – the pole is the tall wooden post that connects the ball to the table. It is attached to the side of the table.
Skittles (also called the pins) – nine small wooden pins which are arranged in a diamond shape on the table.
Shot – your shot is the way you take your throw. The direction, speed and aim of the throw, combined with where you stand and how you hold the ball, combine to be your shot. ‘Finding the shot’ means working out how best to play the board – how to get the highest scores off the front, and how to make up (or clear up) the odd ones, ie, knock down the left-over pins. ‘The shot’ means the best way to get a flopper or spare on any given board – as in ‘what’s the shot on this board?’ A player who plays badly will say he ‘couldn’t find the shot’ while one who started well but then fell away will have ‘lost the shot’.
Side shot - see 'jiggle'.
Spare – a spare is scored by a player when they score more than 9 in one visit to the table, in other words, requiring all the skittles to be replaced. To get a double spare is called getting a doubler - but the best and rarest score a skittler can get is called, rather obviously, a twenty-seven.
Spots – the places on the diamond which show where the skittles should be placed. A skittle that has been knocked but not fallen over is often to be found ‘off his spot’.
Table – the table is the board on which the game is played. It also refers to the board loaded with skittles. And, of course, to the four legged piece of furniture which supports the table.
Take – to take means to knock down a pin or pins – as in ‘if you hit it right, it should take all three pins.’
Thirty-one down – some games play from 31 down instead of 91.
Throw (also called the ball) – the throw is when a player holds the ball in one hand, and taking care that their hand doesn’t pass the post, throws the ball, so that the trajectory of the ball, when pulled back by the chain, hits the skittles exactly where they want. A player’s ‘go’ consists of three throws.
Throw it away – means to deliberately miss all the skittles (probably to leave a better score for the next visit to the table). Many players simply don't throw at all in tis position, and take it as read that they could have missed if they wanted; others throw a very wide ball that misses all the skittles comfortably.
Tie – a leg can be tied if both pairs reach zero in an equal number of throws, but this can only happen in cup games. Sometimes instead of tied, the word ‘scarfed’ is used.
Toss – one person throws a coin up in the air and catches it on the back of their hand, covering it with the other hand. The other person calls ‘heads’ or ‘tails’ – if they are correct, they win. If not, the one holding the coin wins. In friendly games, the loser of a previous game normally starts the next one. This is called ‘mugs back’.
Twenty-seven – 27 is the most a player can score in one visit to the table. Twenty-sevens are few and far between.
Visit – a set of three throws is called a ‘visit’ to the table.
