The game is played by the players alternating turns tossing horseshoes at stakes in the ground, which are traditionally placed 40 feet (12 m) apart.

Disputes are settled by using a straightedge to touch the two points at the ends of the horseshoe, called "heel calks".

In most sanctioned tournaments the handicapped divisions pitch 50 shoe games, most points win.

At the beginning of the twentieth century, there was general agreement about how horseshoes should be played, but details differed.

The most dramatic difference from the modern game was the peg or pin, as the center stake was called, which protruded only 2 inches (51 mm) from the ground.

[3] In the 1907 "World Championship", shoes that rested 2 feet (0.61 m) from the peg were declared foul, and cost the player a half-point each.

The scoring rewarded with 10 points a player who capped or slid under an opponent's ringer with one of their own, a difficult achievement with a 2-inch peg.

A shoe resting 2 feet from the peg was still foul, but no longer cost the player points.

[6] The scoring was close to what is observed today, without penalty points, bonuses for topping, or special attention to leaners.

[8] As successful as the NHPA has been, there are still those who find a park, drive stakes in the ground about thirteen strides apart, and wait for others to appear once the chiming begins.

The horseshoe champion Jimmy Risk demonstrated his skills at the pit for Truman and Admiral Chester W. Nimitz in 1946.

Bush became an avid player of the game and hosted tournaments with White House domestic staff, family members, and administration personnel.

Bush also demonstrated the game for visiting dignitaries including Queen Elizabeth II and the Russian President Boris Yeltsin.