Mounted Archery Course

Also known as Lovasíjászat

An archer rides a straight 90 metre track and shoots at round targets set beside it, drawing and loosing the bow on the move. The course is run against the clock, and each ring of a target is worth more points the closer it lies to the centre.

Play the preview About this tradition

Mounted Archery Course: photograph by Benjamin Diepolder — Photo: Benjamin Diepolder, CC BY-SA 3.0, source on Wikimedia Commons

Mounted Archery Course: the game in attract mode

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How to play

Press and hold to draw the bow; the gauge fills as the draw is completed.
The crosshair sways with the rhythm of the ride. Release when it sits just ahead of a passing target, because the arrow needs a moment to arrive.
Nine arrows make a run.

Rules at a glance

The five rings of a target score 5 in the centre, then 4, 3, 2 and 1 at the edge.
A short draw drops the arrow lower, so always draw fully.
The arrow lands where the crosshair was at release, after a short flight; a miss scores nothing.

About the tradition

Archery from horseback was a skill of the horse-riding peoples of the Eurasian steppe. In Hungary it was revived as a sport in the late twentieth century, with courses of about ninety metres and targets set to the side of the track.

Origins

Usually placed in the era of Classical Worlds (about 1000 BCE to 500 CE), although its exact origins are uncertain, within the cultural world of Northern and Eastern Europe.

Credits

Game design: World Heritage Games (original)
Photo: Benjamin Diepolder, CC BY-SA 3.0, source on Wikimedia Commons
Text: CC BY-SA 4.0, World Heritage Games.

Sources

commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hungarian_competition_horseback_archer

Get the app

Mounted Archery Course is one of 18 sports and skill games in the Sports & Skill of the World app for iPhone, iPad and Android. Submitted to the App Store and Google Play; in review. Store links appear here the day it goes live. One app, many traditions, no account needed.

See all 18 sports and skill games in the app

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