Indoor Quoits - History and Useful Information

Early Quoits

Please see the full Quoits page for the full history of outdoor Quoits from which the Indoor game derives.

Indoor Quoits

While two versions of Outdoor Quoits have managed to make it through the trials of the late 20th century, an indoor version of the game has also managed to thrive around the debatable border between Wales and England. It is most popular in pubs around Powys and Evesham on the Welsh side of the border but also in Gloucestershire, Worcester and Hereford in England. The history of Indoor Quoits, Evesham Quoits, Table Quoits or Dobbers is not at all clear but the best guess seems to be that somebody decided to invent an indoor version of the outdoor game towards the end of the nineteenth century.

The board shown is from the author's collection and was bought from Masters Games.

The game is a cleverly miniaturised version of the outdoor game. It uses rubber rings and to make up for their lack of shape, one side is coloured black, the other white and any quoit which falls black side up, doesn't score. The Quoits board is 3 feet square with a central stake and two indented concentric rings. The scores of the stake, and the two rings vary according to the location and the game being played - rather like Darts, it seems that more than one game is played using the same equipment. The standard game would just be a straight race to the final score of 61 points (scored on a cribbage board) but, in Powys particularly, an interesting variant using a special scoreboard is popular, in which each number up to 13 can only be scored once by the first player who manages to score that number in a turn.

Rings

An indoor relation of Quoits also deserves a mention. Called "Rings", it was popular in the North West of England during the 1930s and consists of a board with numbered hooks at which rubber rings are thrown.

Rules

The rules for two different games played on an indoor Quoits board are available free from Masters Games.

Buy Quoits

You can buy the traditional Indoor Quoits game as well as traditional steel Quoits from Masters Games.

Pubs

If you want to submit a pub to this list, please just email me:

The New Inn, Pembridge (Taylor, 1992)
The Three Horseshoes, Wixford, Worcestershire (Finn, 1981)
The Chequers Inn, Fladbury, near Evesham, Worcestershire (Finn, 1981)
The Chequers, Ettington, near Evesham, Worcestershire (Finn, 1981)
The White Horse, Ettington, near Evesham, Worcestershire (Finn, 1981)
The Victoria, Stroud, Gloucestershire (Finn, 1981)
The Shoes, Bellbroughton, near Birmingham, West midlands (Finn, 1981)
The King's Head, Bishops Castle, Shropshire. (Finn, 1981)
The Cambrian Arms, Builth Road, Powys (submitted by Paul Dudley, November 1999)
The Fountain Inn, Parkend, Lydney, Gloucestershire, GL15 4JD, +44 (0)1594 562189 (submitted by Alan Powell, Landlord November 1999. Part of the Forest of Dean Quoits League).
The Star Inn, Ashton under hill, Evesham, Worcestershire 01386-811325 (submitted John Crowther, Feb 2000)
The Coopers, Broad Street, Builth Wells, Powys. Tel. 01982 552332 (submitted Chris Evans, April 2000)
The Crown & Trumpet Inn, Broadway, Worcestershire (submitted Andy Keeling July 2000)

Leagues

The Builth Wells and District League

Kington League, Herefordshire (submitted Luke Turner, Feb 2001)
Aymestry League, Herefordshire (submitted Luke Turner, Feb 2001)
Presteigne League, Powys (submitted Luke Turner, Feb 2001).

Forest of Dean Quoits League