Variations

Midlands Skittles

In the Midlands, a cheese - an oval ended log - is thrown through the air instead of using a ball.

Gloucestershire Skittles

In the Gloucestershire area, skittles is played with either a team of 12 (winter skittles) or 6 (summer skittles). Each players plays 6 hands of 3 balls.

London Skittles

A skittles game using nine pins (made of hornbeam) and a "cheese" (made of lignum vitae). The disc-shaped cheese is thrown at the pins using a swinging motion whilst stepping forwards. After an initial throw, the remaining pins (a "broken frame") may end up in a variety of formations - each of which has a distinctive (and usually London-based) name, such as a London Bridge or a Portsmouth Road. Knocking down all the pins at once is known as a floorer and is highly respected. A player who manages to throw three floorers in succession is lauded.

Whilst it was once a popular game played in pubs all over London (generally sited by the river), it is now only played at two venues: one in Hampstead and one in Norbury. The origins of this skittles game are vague, but it is thought by some to have been started by Dutch sailors, possibly playing on the decks of moored barges. It is also known as just plain ninepins.

Table Skittles

Table-top versions of the game also exist. These include:

• Hood skittles: a miniaturised version in which the pins are on a special table which is closed on three sides with a leather hood; a wooden cheese is thrown at the pins underarm
• Devil among the tailors: another miniaturised version, in which a small ball is attached by a chain or string to a vertical pole, allowing it to be swung through the air in an arc to strike the pins.