Though cornhole, beer pong, and other tailgating games are plenty of fun, they lack any possible danger. Stump, on the other hand, provides friendly competition and the opportunity to hit yourself or a fellow tailgater by “accident”. The basic idea is that you take a hammer, flip it in the air once, catch it, and in a continuous motion try to hammer an opponents nail into a stump. Wikipedia tells us that the game is a derivative of the fairly bland German game Hammerschalgen. The Kraut’s version doesn’t appear to include the flip of the hammer, which eliminates tricks shots and some safety concerns. They do however have the game set up in some North German taverns, so gezundheit to them.
I was unaware of the game until recently seeing it in photos from Taylor Takes a Taste’s trips to Virginia Tech and Penn State. I was obviously curious and did a little research. For a complete list of rules and variations you can check out WorldStump.com. For our use, I’ve adapted a set of rules from PartySchooled.com
Stump Rules
Setup:
1. Place an evenly cut log (1 foot in diameter) on the ground or on a stand
2. Using medium sized nails, lightly hammer one nail for each participant into the stump just enough that it stands.
3. Grab a drink
Instructions:
All players stand in a circle around the stump in front of their nail with a drink in hand. The first player takes the hammer by the handle and tosses it, making at least one complete rotation, catches it, and in a somewhat fluid motion attempts to hit someone else’s nail. The hammer is then passed to the next person in the cirlce and they repeat. A person is eliminated when the top of their nail is flush with the stump. The last person standing is the winner.
Rules:
If you drop the hammer you take a drink and pass the hammer without hitting a nail
If you miss the nail you are hitting you take a drink
If your nail is hit you take a drink
Once your nail is flush you have to finish your drink and sit out until the game is over
