Scoring in Aunt Sally is simple – one mark for each doll scored.
- 6 sticks are thrown per player hence the maximum score is 6 dolls.
- If no dolls are scored this is called a ‘blob’ and is marked as an X on the board.
- The highest total number of dolls per leg (or horse) wins and that team gets 2 points.
- A drawn leg is 1 point each.
- Three legs are played so the maximum score is 6 points.
- Total points at the end of the season decides who wins the section.
Note other leagues have different rules some play 5 legs for example with less players and some do not have a drawn leg – they play down to 3 sticks and 1 stick to determine a leg winner – see 3 stick rule below.
The Beer Leg – In common with many pub games there is usually a beer leg which doesn’t count towards the league score but the losing team buys their opposite number a drink.
The win can be determined either as a team game or as a 1:1 – the latter stops 8 people queuing at the bar!
3/1 stick rule
In knockout or deciding matches if the legs are drawn by points i.e. 3 – 3:-
- a leg is played with only 3 sticks per throw.
- If this leg is a draw, 1 stick per throw is then played as a leg.
- If this leg is a draw, a leg of 6 sticks is played until someone wins repeating steps 1-3!
An example scoreboard is shown below from a Section playoff – a deciding match for who won that league section.
2008 Premier Section Playoff
Notes –
1st leg goes to the left hand team with scores of 30-24
2nd leg to the right 21-26
3rd leg drawn 19-19 – match score 3-3 so a leg of 3 sticks is played to decide.
4th leg with 3 sticks for each player with the right hand side setting 16. The left hand team scored 6 and couldn’t get the required extra 10 from 3 players (max 9 dolls) to level the right hand side’s score – hence the right hand side team won the match.
– These are the scoring rules for the Abingdon Aunt Sally League;
other methods are used in other leagues.
