How to Play Corn Hole Games? The Ultimate Rules of Cornhole Boards ⋆ Anime & Manga

Great for the entire family! Cornhole, also “tailgate toss”, “bean bag toss”, “baggo”, “corn toss”, or just simply “bags” is a lawn game in which players take turns pitching cornhole bags (duck cloth bags filled with whole kernel corn) at a raised wooden platform with a hole in the far end. There are several versions and sizes but the most well-known size is 2 feet wide by 4 feet long with a 6 inch hole centered 9 inches down from the top. The surface sits 12 inches high off the ground in the back and 4 inches high in the front. A corn bag in the hole scores 3 points, while one on the platform scores 1 point. Play continues until a player reaches the score of 21. The game can be played as either doubles or singles and uses two boards with 8 bags (4 of one color and 4 of another).

Ok, so why is it fun? It’s fun because the entire family can play. It doesn’t matter if you’re 8 years old or 80 years old. Just about anyone can play. It’s great for parties, special events, tailgaiting, or just for some fun in the backyard to get your family out of the house every once in a while. It’s easy to learn and can be challenging at any skill level. You and your opponent alternate throwing the 8 bags which almost always results in some humorous situations and/or precise throwing strategies at the higher skill levels of play.

The fun doesn’t stop there. People who enjoy this game also have the opportunity to play in local tournaments, leagues, and ongoing weekly events held in various locations here locally in Orlando and in many other places across the US. Thanks for visting our website and we hope you enjoy your shopping experience at VictoryTailgate.com! Your source for quality, hand-made, custom regulation cornhole boards, bags, accessories, and other tailgating gear.

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that cornhole is one of the most popular sports in the country. Whether you’re hosting a family or company barbecue or just having some friends over on the weekend, Cornhole is irrefutably the most desired game to have available.

The Rules of Cornhole

The Cornhole Boards:
1. Cornhole boards should be placed on a flat surface 27 feet apart (front to front)
2. The cornhole board surface should be 2′ x 4′.
The Cornhole Bags:
1. There should be 8 bags, with 4 bags in each color.
2. Each bag should be 6 inches by 6 inches and there should be 1 pound of corn inserted into each
cornhole bag.
Cornhole Game Play:
1. There should be two teams of two people, termed partners. Partners shall stand at the same side. Decide who goes first (usually the ugliest person) then take turns throwing bags with your opponent. You throw one bag, then your opponent, then you, then your opponent, etc.
2. Each cornhole team shall have 4 bags of one color.
3. All 8 cornhole bags begin at one end.
4. A coin flip shall determine which cornhole team has honors in round one.
5. One of the partners on the team who has honors shall begin playing by throwing a cornhole bag at the opposite cornhole box.
6. A cornhole player may throw from anywhere behind the front of the cornhole box they are throwing from.
7. Game continues by alternating throws between the two opponent players until all 8
cornhole bags have been thrown.
8. If a cornhole bag hits the ground then bounces up onto the board, that bag shall be taken off the playing surface.
9. The next round starts when the other cornhole player on the team, which has honors, throws their first cornhole bag.
10. The cornhole game continues until one team reaches 21 or more points.
Fouls:
A foul occurs when any of the following happens.
1. A cornhole player’s foot goes past the foot foul line, termed a foot foul.
2. A player goes out of turn.
3. The player who caused the foul loses the throw when the foul occurred and the bag shall be removed if it landed on the playing surface.
Scoring:
1. The score shall be taken after all cornhole bags have been thrown for a round.
2. Points shall be given as follows.
A. 3 points for a cornhole bag that goes through the hole.
B. 1 point for a cornhole bag that is on the playing surface.
C. 1 point for a cornhole bag that is hanging into the hole.
D. 1 point for a cornhole bag that is hanging off the edge but not touching the ground.
E. 0 points for a cornhole bag that is on the playing surface, but also touching the ground.
F. 0 points for a cornhole bag that is hanging off the front edge and is resting on a cornhole bag that is on the ground (unless the cornhole bag on the ground can be removed without making the hanging bag fall to the ground, then one point is given).
3. The cornhole team with the highest round score, adds the difference of the two scores to their game score.
4. The cornhole team who wins the round is given honors to throw first in the next round.
5. If both cornhole teams have the same round score then the game score stays the same and honors stay with the team who had it the previous round.
The rest is up to you, have fun!!!

Cornhole Rules – Based On ACA Ruleset

Pitchers Box The pitcher’s box is the rectangle 4 ft by 3 ft at each end of the court, parallel and on both sides of Cornhole platforms. Each contestant must remain in the pitchers box while pitching the corn bag.

Foul Lines There are two sets of foul lines: Open adult play and junior play. The open adult play foul lines shall be defined as an imaginary line 30 ft. from the beginning of the hole in the opposite Cornhole platform. For Cornhole / Corn Toss sets that meet ACA specifications, this foul line will be parallel to the front of the cornhole platform. The junior play foul lines shall be defined as an imaginary line 21 ft. from the beginning of the hole in the opposite cornhole platform. See the diagram above.

Pitching Distances All open adult contestants shall pitch from the pitcher’s box behind the 30 foot foul lines. Physically impaired adults or seniors may, if agreed by all contestants, observe the 21 foot foul lines. Junior contestants may pitch from any place, but must observe the 21 foot foul lines.

GENERAL GAME PLAY

Singles or Doubles Play Cornhole / Corn Toss can be played as doubles or singles. In doubles play two contestants are partners against another team of two contestants; in singles play a contestant competes against another contestant. In doubles play, one member of each team pitches from one cornhole platform and the other members pitch from the other cornhole platform. In singles play, both contestants pitch from the same cornhole platform. All other rules are basically the same for doubles or singles play.

Innings Every Cornhole / Corn Toss match is broken down into innings of play. During each inning of play each contestant must pitch all four corn bags.

PITCHING THE BAGS

In doubles play, the first side of contestants alternate pitching corn bags until they have thrown all four corn bags, then the remaining contestant (pitching from the other cornhole platform) continue to alternate in the same manner until all four corn bags are delivered and the inning completed. Delivery in singles play is handled in the same manner (but from the same platform) with each of the two contestants alternating their pitching of corn bags until all four corn bags have been pitched completing the inning.

A contestant may deliver the corn bag from either the left or right pitchers box (see above) but, in any one inning, all corn bags must be delivered from the same pitcher’s box. A contestant shall pitch the entire tournament with the same hand or arm, except in the case of a medical emergency.

Each individual contestant shall deliver the corn bag within 20 seconds. The time shall start when the contestant steps onto the pitcher’s box with the intention of pitching.

Pitching rotatio The contestant who scored in the preceding inning shall pitch first in the next inning. If neither pitcher scores, the contestant who pitched second (last) in the preceding inning shall pitch first in the next inning.

Pitching position The pitcher must maintain constant contact with the designated pitcher’s box (See diagram above) during the entire address and release of the corn bag. The only exception is for junior and physically challenged contestants, who must simply remain completely behind the 21 ft. foul line when the corn bag is released. The opponent, while not pitching, shall stand behind the cornhole platform at least 2 feet to the rear of the contestant who is pitching. After a short distance contestant (junior or physically challenged) pitches first they must return to the cornhole platform if the opponent or any contestant on an adjacent court is a full distance pitcher.

If both contestants use the same pitchers box to deliver their corn bags, the contestant pitching first should cross over to the other pitchers box in front of the cornhole platform and then move to the proper position. As the first contestant is crossing in front the second contestant should be crossing over in back and mounting the pitchers box from the rear. If both contestants use opposite pitchers boxes, the contestant who pitches first should step directly back to the proper position.

Foul Bags A foul corn bag is a corn bag which was delivered in non-compliance with one of the rules of the game. It scores as a corn bag out of the count and is to be removed from the Cornhole / Corn Toss court before any more corn bags are pitched. Corn bags already in the court that have been knocked into foul territory by a foul corn bag should be returned to the scoring area. Additionally, corn bags that are in the count, but are knocked into the hole by a foul corn bag must be returned to their original scoring position.

POINTS

Corn Bag In-The-Hole A corn bag in-the-hole (or Hole-In) is a corn bag which is thrown through the hole in the cornhole platform or otherwise comes to rest inside the cornhole platform (knocked in by another player or an act of God). A corn bag in-the-hole has a value of three points.

Corn Bag In-The-Count A corn bag that is not in-the-hole but lands with any portion of the corn bag resting on the cornhole platform is in-the-count. A corn bag in-the-count has a value of one point. For a corn bag to be in-the-count, it must not touch the ground or any other portion of the court prior to coming to rest on the cornhole platform. If a corn bag touches the ground before coming to rest on the cornhole platform, it is a foul and must be removed from the cornhole platform prior to the continuation of play.

Corn Bag Out-Of-The-Count A corn bag which comes to rest anywhere except in-the-count or in-the-hole is out-of-the-count and has no scoring value. A corn bag which is declared to be a foul is considered to be out-of-the-count (no matter where it comes to rest) and must be removed from the cornhole surface prior to the continuation of play.

SCORING

Scoring is calculated as follows (Cancellation Scoring)

The points of both contestants are calculated for hole-ins and in-the-count corn bags.
The points of the lowest scoring contestant for hole-in corn bags are subtracted from the points of the highest scoring contestant for hole-in corn bags. The result is the hole-in score for the highest scoring contestant. The hole-in score for the lowest scoring contestant is zero.
The points of the lowest scoring contestant for in-the-count corn bags are subtracted from the points of the highest scoring contestant for in-the-count corn bags. The result is the in-the-count score for the highest scoring contestant. The in-the-count score for the lowest scoring contestant is zero.
The hole-in score for each contestant is added to the in-the-count score for each contestant to derive the recorded score for the inning.
In this manner hole-in and in-the-count corn bags from each contestant or team of contestants are cancelled out and only non cancelled corn bags are counted in the score. Looking to run a tournament? We use tournament brackets from PrintYourBrackets.com

WINNING THE GAME

The Cornhole / Corn Toss match shall be played until the first team of contestants reaches (or exceeds) 21 points at the completion of an inning. The winning team does not need to win by two or more points.

The Cornhole / Corn Toss match can never end in the middle of an inning. Thus, if a team that pitches first reaches or exceeds 21 points, the game can not end until the other side is allowed to pitch all of their corn bags and the inning is completed.

If the Cornhole / Corn Toss match is tied at 21 or more at the end of an inning, play continues until one team or the other achieves a higher score at the end of an inning and wins the match.

The game shall be played to 21 unless a team scores 7 or more points at the end of an inning before their opponents score any points. It this case the game is a skunk and the team that scores 7 or more points wins the match.