Rope and Deck Quoits

The Masters Games website at www.mastersgames.com publishes the following text about Deck Quoits.  James Masters has provided the information below to The Quoit Pits website so it may be used to compare this version of Quoits to those versions played here in the US. 

Deck Quoits

There are no set standards for Deck Quoits - partly because of its informal nature and partly because the game has to adapt to the shape and area of each particular ship it is played upon. 

Equipment

The quoits are simply rope rings and each player would normally have either three or four of them.  There are two "ends" each with a target which tends to be a mark on the deck referred to as a "jack".  Around the jack concentric circles are marked.  The areas between each circle are marked with their scoring amounts.  The outer rings score less than the inner rings and the jack scores the highest - precise scores involved vary.  The jack and rings are commonly made from brass sunk into the deck.

Play

The player who won the previous end throws first.  Players toss a coin to decide who starts the first end and, in the event of a draw, the player who went first previously starts again.  Players throw alternately at the jack with their front foot inside the innermost circle of the end being thrown from.  In singles, players throw from alternate ends whereas for doubles one player from each side stands at either end so no walking between the ends is needed. 

After all quoits have been thrown, the winner of the end receives the points scored by any quoits nearer to the jack than the opponent's nearest quoit.  A quoit touching a circle scores the points for the outer ring.  A quoit that lies on top of another quoit, typically does not count.  The first player or partnership to score 21 points, wins.

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