Summary
Summer is finally here and maybe you’re looking for ways to get the family outdoors for some good clean fun that, for once, does not necessarily involve game consoles.
Believe it or not, an allegedly centuries-old farmer’s game from 14th-century Germany that has evolved into the beanbag toss game that we know today as “Cornhole” can fill the void for summer fun and can bring out a surprising level of tasteful competitiveness that you didn’t know you had. Listed below are cornhole rules:
What You Need
1. 2 cornhole boards, each with a 2’x4′ surface, set about 27 feet apart with the front ends facing each other. (Note: If you have small children who wish to play, put the boards closer to each other as needed.)
2. 8 bags, four of which are a different color. Each bag should be 6″x6″ and should each contain 1 pound of corn.
How to Play
1. There should be two teams, each team containing two people, standing at opposite ends of the cornhole boxes on the same side of the boxes so that no team has an unfair advantage.
2. Each team should have 4 bags of the same color set at one end.
3. To determine which team goes first, you can have a coin toss or decide among yourselves which team goes first (e.g. youngest player goes first etc.)
4. One partner from the team that goes first begins the game by throwing the beanbag from anywhere behind the front of their cornhole box toward the opposite cornhole box. The goal is to get the bag in the opposite hole.
5. After the first throw, it’s one person from the opposite team’s turn to throw, and the game continues with alternating throws from these two opponents until all 8 bags have been thrown.
6. If a bag hits the ground before it hits the board’s surface, the bag should be taken off of the surface–it does not count.
7. After all bags have been thrown, the other partner on the first team throws the first of the remaining bags.
8. The game continues until one team reaches at least 21 points.
Fouls
Fouls can occur if any one of the following happens:
1. A player’s foot goes past what is called a “foot foul” line.
2. Players throw when it is not their turn. Any bag that lands on the surface does not count for points and should subsequently be removed from the surface.
Scoring
1. Score is calculated after the first round is over:
A. 3 points for bags that go through the hole.
B. 1 point for bags that land on the playing surface.
C. 1 point for bags that are hanging off of the hole’s edge.
D. 1 point for bags that are hanging off the playing surface but are not touching the ground.
E. 0 points for bags that are partially on the surface and partially on the ground.
F. 0 points for bags that are hanging off the front edge and are resting on a bag that is already on the ground. NOTE: If you can remove the bag from the ground without the bag on the surface falling off, then 1 point is restored.
2. The team with the highest score each round will add the difference of the two scores to their game score.
3. The team that wins the round gets to go first the next round.
4. If both teams tie in one round, then game scores remain and the team that got to go first the last round goes first again.
