Do Run Run

While we're on the topic of alternate formats, can someone explain the rules of Do Run Run. I've seen mention of it several times on here but am not clear on the rules. Thanks. Also if you've got any other fun games that can be played with a group of 4-5 I'd love to hear about them.

[Brian Niemann]

Thanks Mark. Do you guys have any local favorites that you like to play when not playing singles or doubles?

[Kaiser]

If you are looking for group games... you can always look up the disc golf card game called Ript.... I've played it with some friends and it's pretty cool... You get the chance to really screw with each other... as long as you can remember it's all for fun...

[Brian Niemann]

Thanks Kaiser. I've played Ript but am looking for something different to try. I really enjoy Ript and every time I've played it we had a great time and the round was decided on the last hole.

Kaiser said:

If you are looking for group games... you can always look up the disc golf card game called Ript.... I've played it with some friends and it's pretty cool... You get the chance to really screw with each other... as long as you can remember it's all for fun...

[Jeff Levin]

Wolf is the best game for a group of 5, but only works with five players. Here is a website that has all the rules to Wolf.

http://www.morleyfield.com/course/othergames.htm

[FullContactDiscGolf.com]

Jeff Levin said:

Wolf is the best game for a group of 5, but only works with five players. Here is a website that has all the rules to Wolf.

http://www.morleyfield.com/course/othergames.htm

here in san antonio tx, they play wolf in groups of 7. three rounds, 21 holes.

[mark ellis]

You guys are killing me. This discussion started about Do Run Run, one of my favorite and best games. It has devolved into RIPT and Wolf which, IMO are both inherently flawed.

Games should be fun, which Wolf is and reportedly RIPT is as well. But a game should do more than entertain, it should also improve the skills of the players. A good game is fair for all players and isolates a particular skill which is critical for success in actual tournament play.

In Wolf, the weakest player has no realistic chance of winning. In Wolf, in certain situations, there are incentives for a player to throw a bad shot (the current leader is the Wolf, doesn't go alone and has the last thrower as his partner. That last throwing partner does not want his team to win the skin so he should purposely throw bad drives, upshots and putts.) A good game should not create incentives to throw poorly. I can already throw bad shots. I don't need practice at that skill.

[Jeff Levin]

Mark - Brian says right in the original post "Also if you've got any other fun games that can be played with a group of 4-5 I'd love to hear about them." So how is this only a discussion about Do Run Run?

[mark ellis]

Jeff Levin said:

Mark - Brian says right in the original post "Also if you've got any other fun games that can be played with a group of 4-5 I'd love to hear about them." So how is this only a discussion about Do Run Run?

I didn't say the responses were off topic, just painful.

[Brian Niemann]

Mark,

Since you're the Do Run Run guy, is there anything else I need to know that Mark Stephens did not include in his response at the beginning of the thread?

[mark ellis]

Brian Niemann said:

Mark,
Since you're the Do Run Run guy, is there anything else I need to know that Mark Stephens did not include in his response at the beginning of the thread?

Yeah, but the game has complicated variations and the scoring can be tricky.

If the quality of the players varies a lot, the best version is straight best shot. Then it is just non-carryover skins, flipping for new teams each time a skin is hit.

If the quality of the players is consistent (no player is much better or worse than the others) then using a cycle is more fun. For cycle play, the first hole played is one format (best shot), if no skin is hit then the teams stay the same and the next hole is a different format (for example "Trumps", another game I invented and will explain below). If no skin is hit the teams stay the same and the next hole is another format (tough shot, for example). If no skin is hit then the teams stay the same and the format goes back to the top of the cycle (best shot) and the bet doubles.

If the 2nd cycle is completed without a skin being hit then the game goes to the top of the cycle and the bet triples.

So in this example the cycle is Best shot, Trumps, Tough Shot. Anytime a skin is hit, flip for new teams and go to the top of the cycle (best shot).

The cycle of formats is up to the preferences of the group and is limitless. If a group wanted to work on rollers one of the formats could be best shot with mandatory roller drives. If the group wanted to work on putting, one format could be "Lizard Abuse" (best shot until one putt goes in then worst putt-so both putts must go in to complete the hole).

Presumably everyone is familiar with best shot (called scrambles in ball golf). All partners throw each shot with the team choosing which shot to use each time until one shot holes out.

In tough shot, your opponent picks the worst of the shots from your team until someone holes out (only one putt has to go in). You, of course, get to pick which shot your opponent has to use until they hole out.

Trumps is a non-carryover best shot skins game where there are consequences to which drive the team chooses to play from. In Trumps, all partners drive. Your opponents will call which of your team's drives is the worst. You will call which of your opponent's drives is the worst. Your team can choose any of your team's drives to play from. If your team scores a lower score than the opponent on the hole you win a skin, no matter which drive is used by either team. If there is a tie and one team used its worst drive while the other team used the best drive, then worst drive Trumps the best drive and cashes the skin. So there is an advantage to choosing the worst drive to play from.

So if my team birdies from its best drive and your team pars from its worst drive, a skin is still a skin and my team wins (my team scored 2 and your team scored 3). If if both teams throw birdies but I birdied off my best drive and you birdied off your worst, you win the skin since worst drive trumps best drive on ties (both teams scored 2 but you win on the trump).

Trumps is a strategy game. Say my team throws two drives:one a hundred feet away from the basket and one 30 feet away. Your team throws two drives, both about 60 feet away. Obviously, since both of your shots are roughly the same, you will pick whichever is designated to be the worst ( your opponent must pick one as the worst). The tough choice is mine. I know you will easily par from your worst drive and have some slight chance of deucing an a long putt. The question is whether I think I can hit my 30 foot putt. If I take the best drive and miss the putt I will par and lose to your par (worst drive trump). Whoever is farthest away from the hole declares first so I have to decide whether to play for a push (my par from worst vs. your par from worst) or play for the win (my best drive 2 vs. your worst drive 3)

Trumps, btw, is a really good game to play with two players when you are learning a course (like the day before an out-of-town tournament). It lets you drive twice and forces you to play from difficult lies.

If there are 5 people playing the game, the teams will be 2 vs. 3. In best shot the team with 3 players has the advantage (more drives to choose from). In Trumps and Tough Shot the 2 person team has the advantage (the more drives there are the worse the worst drive might be).

For scoring the losing team loses one betting unit for each skin lost. I will save those details for later.

Do Run Run is designed for groups over 4 players. It will work with any sized group you will tolerate (after 9 players groups play too slowly for most players to enjoy). You can add or subtract players after any skin is hit. You can change formats after any skin is hit. Due to the complexity of the rules it may be best to play with a Do Run Run veteran at first.

For anyone who has read this far and tried to figure out the rules based on my description, I would appreciate finding out how confusing my explanations are. In practice, the rules and strategies become clear pretty quickly. Reading it on paper is more difficult.

[Donnie Brooks, Mini Disc Golf Federation]

ROLL "ER" BACK AT CHA game. Roll a disc up a hill and have it curl around and roll back down at cha. The scoring is based on a marker at the top of the hill and increments of 5 feet coming back down. You get 100 points for rolling around the top marker and 5 ponts for each marker you pass on the way back down. If you cross the marker line, you get an additional 50 points for everytime this happens. Created by Linc Morgan of Lancaster Pa.

[Bruce Brakel]

That's a good description of the game we played when we played Do-Run-Run. The rotation was something like Best Shot, Trump Shot, Lizard Abuse, Worst Drive, Worst Shot, and every cycle was worth a buck or a buck fifty. In a 3 against 2 game it is fun to play a cycle that gets progressively harder so that the 3 team starts off with the advantage but winds up disadvantaged if they don't put it away.

For league and family golf we often play best shot but we rotate to new teams whenever a hole is won. At the end of the game everyone has an individual score. When we have two intermediates and two novices [by pdga rating] when the intermediates are partnered with each other they have to play a format less favorable than best shot. If we have an intermediate and three novices, the format includes a rotation to the intermediate against the three novices, singles against three person best shot. When we have five or six we have other rules.