The rules of cornhole (simplified)
Toss the 16oz corn-filled bag into the hole and score3 points. Land the cornhole bag on the cornhole board and score 1 point. The first player or team to 21 wins. The distance for cornhole is 27 feet from the front of each board. It's a simple and addictive game.
Brief History of Cornhole
Cornhole the game or bags as some people like to call it, is an American classic outdoor game. The history of Cornhole is somewhat unclear. The most popular belief is that cornhole came from American marines. To pass time they would often create there own games. And as the legend has it, it spread like wild fire. Now almost everyone knows what cornhole is.
Cornhole Equipment
2 Cornhole Boards- A Cornhole board is basically a raised platform with a 6-inch hole in it. The surfaces of the Cornhole Boards should be 2' X 4’ and it should be angled so the back of the board is about 7” higher than the front of the board. The 6” hole is placed in the center 9” from the top of the board. 8 Cornhole Bags - 6"X6" bags; four of each color for opposite teams. Cornhole bags should weigh one pound each.
How far do you space Cornhole Boards
Cornhole boards should be spaced 27 feet from the front edge of each board.
2 or 4 Players
Cornhole can be played with 2 or 4 players. If you play with 2 players it is considered individual play and when you play with 4 players it is considered team play.
Cornhole Team Play
In team play one player from Team A and one player from Team B lineup next to each board. Bags are tosses alternating from one team to the next. One player from team A tosses a bag and then one player from team B tosses a bag until all 4 bags have been tossed. When all the bags have been thrown for that round, points are totaled and the next round begins from the opposite cornhole board with the opposing partners taking turns tossing their bags. Determine the team who throws first by a coin toss and every round after that, the first throw goes to the team that won the previous round. Rounds continue until one of the teams reaches 21 points or more.
Cornhole Individual Play
Individual play is the same as team play except you have to walk to the alternating board to pick up and score your own points and then toss the bags back yourself. You should alternate sides when playing individually. So on the first round player A would be on the right side of the board and on the next round player A would be on the left side of the board.
How to score points in Cornhole.
Points are determined based on where the Cornhole bags land in relation to the boards. Three points are awarded when a bag goes through the hole, one point is earned if the bag lands on the box. Bags that are hanging into the hole or hanging off the box but not touching the ground count as 1 point. There are no points earned if a bag is hanging off the box but touching the ground or if a bag is hanging off the front of the box and is supported by another bag unless you are able to remove the Cornhole bag on the ground without the other moving. If at anytime the bag hits the ground no points are awarded for that bag.
How to throw a Cornhole bag
To be honest you can throw the bag any way you want too. Some methods of tossing the bags are more successful than others. The most popular method amongst the professional players is a toss with a nice arc and a smooth flat spin on it. To get a smooth flat spin on the bags you must first flatten the bag out and grip it almost like a frisbee. Use a fluid arm motion and put a slight spin on the bag as you release it.
Scoring Points in Cornhole
Points are totaled after each round and points cancel. The team with the highest score of a particular round adds the difference between their score and the opposite teams to their running total. If both teams have the same score in any given round then no points are awarded to either team. The score stays the same and the first throw goes to the team who scored last.
Another example of scoring. If team A gets 7 points and team B gets 4 points on the board then team A would be awarded 3 points. The first 4 points are canceled out. Now that you know the rules you can master the game of Cornhole!
