Summer is here, and outdoor parties are rolling: Coals are hot, drinks iced, tiki torches lit—for god’s sake, even the weather has cooperated with a warm night once in a while—but it’s really just the same old barbecue scene. Your guests are milling around, resembling thirsty antelope ready to bolt for another watering hole if things don’t liven up pretty quick. Might I suggest something totally off-the-wall here? Give them games!
You can liven up any barbecue with a slice of the upper crust. I’m talking leisure sports—no touch football—that don’t require heavy breathing: croquet, bocce, and horseshoes, ࠬa The Great Gatsby or the Kennedys in Hyannisport. Lawn sports, played with drink in hand, equate to a better backyard bash. Of course, a party isn’t required for play; round up a couple friends and take the game to a park for a twilight round or two.
Anyone can pick up the game of croquet. (Is there anyone who didn’t carve divots out of their parents’ lawn with the family croquet set?) Essentially, it’s a race among balls through an obstacle course of wickets. The defining shot comes when you slam your opponent’s ball off the field of play by ricocheting your own ball into it with a foot-on-top-of-the-ball “croquet” blast.
A traditional croquet match is played on a nine-wicket double-diamond course that is laid out on a lawn buffed to putting green smoothness. But the beauty of croquet is that it can be set up anywhere, so an untamed backyard or wide parking strip will do just fine. Croquet’s suave elegance makes a perfect centerpiece for themed parties. Dress whites, brimmed caps, gin and tonics, and a few references to Alice in Wonderland (she played a royal game with flamingos as mallets and hedgehogs as balls) will lend a sophisticated panache to your bash.
Bocce (pronounced boh-chee), or Italian lawn bowling, is even simpler than croquet. It is one of the most widely played sports in the world. The goal is to throw or roll a bocce ball as close as possible to the “pallina,” a slightly smaller wooden ball on the field of play. Proper technique includes the puntata (roll), volo (high underhand throw), or raffa (strong toss to knock another ball out of place). This team game accommodates up to eight players.
The toughest thing about playing horseshoes might be finding the horse to give up the equipment. The game is as simple as you think: Pitch at a stake for a ringer and count your misses. And, since the lawn looks so nice, and you’re wearing your white shorts, leave the touch football for a muddy fall day.
