How to Make a Ring Toss Game

Before you get started, gather all of your materials and the tools you will need for this project.

• One 4 ft. 1 x 4 in. board
• One 6 ft. x 1 in. dowel
• Miter saw
• Hacksaw
• Power drill with 1 1/2-in. drill bit
• 1 in. spade bit
• Phillips screwdriver
• Sandpaper or sanding sponge
• Wood glue
• 1/2 in. 19-gauge nails
• Five 1 1/2-in. screws
• 4-in. PVC pipe
• 14 ft. of 1-in. Manila twist rope
• Hot glue gun and glue
• Painter’s tape
• Safety glasses
• Work gloves

The first task in how to make a ring toss game is to make the cuts to the wood.

• Cut the 1 x 4 in. board into two pieces with the miter saw, one 2 feet long and the other 18 inches long.
• Save the offcut; it will be used in a later step.

Once you've finished your cuts, mark the wood. 

• Use a writing marker to mark a point in the center of both boards.
• Mark a point 1 1/2 inches from each end of both boards, centered.

One option to give the final product a nicer look is to make dog-ear cuts to the wood. Here's how:

• Using a miter saw, dog ear both ends of each 1 x 4, including the offcut, by making a 45-degree cut on each corner.
• On the offcut board, after it has been dog-eared, mark a line 2 inches from each end. Cut at those lines to make the feet.

Tip: Wear safety glasses and work gloves to protect yourself.

Next, it's time to drill. Only one of the holes will go all the way through the board, so be sure to take your time with this step. Stop drilling and check the other side of the board often throughout this step. 

• Using the spade bit, drill completely through the center mark on the 18-in. board.
• Using the same bit, drill at the four remaining marks. Stop drilling when the central point of the bit just starts to break through the other side.

• Sand all the surfaces and edges of the boards.
• Wrap the sandpaper around your thumb and use it to slightly enlarge the hole that was drilled completely through.

• Cut the dowels with the miter saw into five 12-inch pieces.
• Using your drill and drill bit, make a pilot hole in the center of one end of each dowel.
• Place a dowel in every hole, except the through hole, and attach with one 1 1/2-in. screw from the other side. The hole made by the point of the spade bit is your mark and pilot hole.

The last task is to attach the parts so your ring toss game folds. This will allow you to close it up for storage or travel.

• Attach the feet with wood glue and nails to the ends of the 18-in. board.
• Slip the through hole over the center dowel on the 24-in. board.
• When it’s time to play, rotate the 18-in. board and let it slip down to touch the lower board.
• When playtime is over, lift the top board enough for the feet to clear so it can rotate to the closed position.

Now that the ring toss frame is finished, you’ll make the rings for it from slices of PVC pipe.

The challenge with cutting large diameter PVC pipe is getting a straight, square cut. Here’s how to get close with nothing more than a hacksaw, a piece of paper (about 20 inches long to mark a 4-in. pipe) and a felt tip marker. Keep in mind, this step is easier if the workpiece is elevated on a set of sawhorses or a table.

• Measure the length and make a mark. A 1/2-inch cut is good for throwing rings.
• Wrap the paper around the pipe so that it overlaps itself and square the edges.
• Mark the pipe by going around the edge of the paper. Mark half on the paper and half on the pipe; this will give you a sharp line.
• Begin sawing at the top of the line. Once the saw breaks through to the inside of the pipe, rotate the pipe away from you slightly so that you are only cutting into the line you can see on your side of the pipe.
• Continue to rotate the pipe as progress is made until the cut is complete.
• Smooth the rough edges with sandpaper.
• Scuff the smooth surface with sandpaper so the paint will adhere.
• Paint the rings in different colors with a spray paint that will adhere to plastic.

It’s easy to get square cuts with a miter saw but be very careful when using a tool like this to cut plastic pipe. The plastic is soft and will grab when cut into. Never try to cut a short piece of large diameter pipe with a powered miter saw. It is likely that the blade will bite into the pipe, spin it and throw it at a high rate of speed. This action can pull your support hand into the spinning blade or you could be hit by the flying projectile. 

Use lengths of Manila twist rope to easily create rings for the game. You’ll need a 16-inch piece of 1-in. Manila twist rope for each ring. 

• Cut the end of the rope squarely and bend it into a ring.
• Next, apply hot glue with a glue gun to each rope end. Hold the ends together until the glue cools.
• If you don't have a hot glue gun, cyanoacrylate or super glue will also work. Simply apply glue to both ends of the rope ring. Use a piece of 2-inch painter’s tape to hold the ends together while the glue cures.

When you’re done with the build, paint or stain to match whichever rings you choose. Choose bold primary colors for the PVC rings and a rustic stain with the rope rings. The beauty of this project is that you can make it all your own. 

Tip: Make sure that the rings you make are too small to go over a child’s head. Be sure to supervise small children when playing.

There are a few different ways to keep score in ring toss, but the most common is that the first player to score 15 points wins. 

• Start by tossing rings at the target, trying to get them to land around the posts.
• The middle post is three points and each outer post is one point.
• Players alternate turns.
• Scoring is similar to cornhole in that the score is taken as the difference of points between players/teams.