What is skittles?
Skittles is England's old pub game of knocking down nine pins set in a diamond. There isn't one game called skittles but a family of regional ones, and nobody runs them all: TradGames, a traditional games specialist, says it "has no overall organising body." Local leagues set their own rules, which is why two alleys a few miles apart can play differently.
Wikipedia, citing an Oxford University Press sports dictionary, describes skittles as "similar to, but distinct from, nine-pin bowling" and "the forerunner of Tenpin bowling." Our nine-pin page covers the European games it sits beside.
West Country alley skittles
The best-known form is played in pub and club alleys across South West England. Here is how one league plays it, the Berkeley and District Skittles League in Gloucestershire, formed in 1957:
| Pins | Nine, "set in a diamond"; Gloucester-style barrel pins "around 8″-10″ high" |
|---|---|
| Balls | "Around 4″-5″ in diameter"; TradGames says many leagues now insist on heavy rubber balls |
| Alley | "In the region of 30′-50′ in length" in this league; TradGames puts a West Country alley at about 24 feet |
| Team | 8 players, matches over 8 legs |
| A turn | A "hand" of 3 balls |
Three rules from the league's 2026-27 rulebook show how the game works:
- The ball line. "All balls must strike the alley before a line drawn across the width of the alley." A ball that lands past it is a foul ball, and the league recommends eight feet of run-up behind the line.
- What counts as down. "Any pin that is struck and passes through the horizontal plane and stands up again will be counted as down."
- Foul balls. A foul ball counts as one of your three, "but any fallen pins must be stood back up again."
Leagues differ on equipment too. Berkeley's rule is that only the home team's balls and pins may be used, while TradGames reports that in Gloucester leagues at least three quarters of teams bring their own balls. The same league runs both a "Front-pin Knockout" and an "All-in Cup," two different ways of scoring the same pins.
London skittles: thrown, not rolled
London, or Old English, skittles is a different game. According to the London Skittles club, it survives at one pub, the Freemasons Arms in Hampstead:
- Players throw a "cheese," a flat disc of lignum vitae, at the pins. "Most weighing about 10lb (4.5kg)."
- "The nine pins stand in diamond formation on a frame 54in (1.37m) square," and the pins are "traditionally made from hornbeam."
- "The player starts from the back of the run, 21ft (6.4m) from the front pin," with up to four throws to clear the frame.
- "Usually two players play a game over seven legs or 'ends'." The score is "the number of throws plus the number of pins left standing," so the lowest score wins.
The club's history page says the game was formalised late in the nineteenth century, peaked between the wars, and declined after the Second World War until "only three clubs remained" by the end of the 1970s.
Other regional forms
- Long Alley (the Midlands: Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire): TradGames describes alleys "generally around 33 - 36 feet long," balls or cheeses that must bounce once, and a kingpin that must be hit first. Rules vary even between nearby leagues.
- Northamptonshire table skittles: "Nine 'pins' are placed in a diamond formation on the table, and three 'cheeses' are thrown at them," as Tiffield Parish Council describes it. It is played "only within a radius of about 25 miles from Tiffield."
Skittles words
- Hand: one player's turn of three balls.
- Leg: a round in which every player on the team throws a hand.
- Ball line: the line every ball must land in front of.
- Sticker: "the attendant who resets the pins and returns the cheese" (London Skittles glossary).
- Cheese: the disc thrown in London and table skittles, named for its shape.
- Floorer: "a shot which knocks all nine pins over."
- Bolter: "a cheese which passes through all the pins without knocking any over."
A short history
The earliest known use of the word "skittles" in English is 1634, according to Wikipedia citing the Oxford English Dictionary. Where the game began is disputed. TradGames says "the game originated in Germany where the earliest references to the game have been found," while the London Skittles club traces it "alongside other similar games, to Ancient Egypt and perhaps beyond." TradGames also notes a 1694 painting of a Thames frost fair that shows nine pins being played.
Leagues have deep roots in the South West: TradGames lists the Hereford & District Invitation League as founded in 1902, and the West Bay club as started in 1909.
Where it's played today
Alley skittles is strongest in Somerset, Bristol, Gloucestershire, Devon, Dorset and Wiltshire, with leagues in South Wales and Herefordshire too. Leagues can be big: the Berkeley and District league lists 56 teams in 4 divisions and 1,077 registered players for the 2026-27 season. No national participation figure exists.
To play in a league you don't need to buy anything: the alley, pins and balls come with the venue. Garden skittles sets are a different thing, a lawn game rather than league equipment.
Gear to play at home
A garden skittles set is a nine-pin lawn game for home, not league equipment.
Sources: Berkeley and District Skittles League and its Rules 2026-2027; London Skittles, About London Skittles, history and glossary; TradGames, Skittles: History and Useful Information and Western Skittles (2024); Tiffield Parish Council, Skittles Teams (2023); Wikipedia, Skittles (sport). All checked 21 October 2026.
Common questions
What is the difference between skittles and bowling?
Skittles is played at nine pins set in a diamond, usually on a short pub alley, and each player throws a hand of three balls. Wikipedia, citing an Oxford sports dictionary, calls it similar to but distinct from nine-pin bowling and the forerunner of tenpin.
Who governs skittles?
No one body does. Skittles has no national governing body, so the rules and equipment vary from league to league and region to region.
How do you score in skittles?
In West Country alley skittles you count the pins you knock down with a hand of three balls. In the Berkeley and District league, a pin that tips past horizontal and stands back up still counts as down. London skittles is the opposite: you count throws plus pins left standing, and the lowest score wins.
Where can I play skittles?
Mainly in pubs and clubs in South West England, South Wales and Herefordshire, through local leagues, and in the Midlands as Long Alley skittles. London skittles is now played only at the Freemasons Arms in Hampstead.