How to Play Cornhole

How to Play Cornhole

How to Play Cornhole

Cornhole is a fun game for anyone, and can be played both outside and inside! We won’t be covering every single detail about the game here, but will give a clear summarized outline of the key points so you can be on your way to following the same rules. If you need more clarification, please see the elaborated official rules on the ACL website here: https://iplaycornhole.com/

 

What you need to play

8 Cornhole Bags - 4 per team/ player. Each cornhole bag is 6’’X 6’’, and should weigh one pound each. Each set of 4 bags should also be different in color to distinguish opponents bags.

2 Cornhole Boards - The surfaces of the Cornhole Boards should be 2”X 4” and is angled so the back of the cornhole board is roughly 7” higher than the front of the board. The 6” hole is placed in the center, 9” from the top of the cornhole board.

The boards are spaced 27 feet a part from each other ( front edge to front edge), which makes the holes 33 feet apart. 

 

How to set up and play

Start by placing the cornhole boards 27 feet a part ( end to end ) or 33 feet a part, hole to hole. One player stands on the side of each board - If playing in pairs, your partner will be on the opposite board from you.

While throwing, the players feet should not cross the front of the board. Tossing the 16oz cornhole bag into the hole of the board results in 3 points. If the bag lands and stays on the board, it results in 1 point. The first player or team to 21 points wins.

 

Cornhole can be played with 2 or 4 players. Playing with 2 people (1 per team) is considered singles, and playing with 4 people (2 per team) is considered doubles. 

 

One player from teach team will line up next to each board. Cornhole bags are tossed, alternating from one team to the next. Team 1 will toss, then team 2 will toss, etc. Until each team as thrown all 4 of their bags. Once each team has toss all their bags, then points are determined and scored before the next round begins. The first throw of the next round goes to the team that won the previous round.

The game continues until a team reaches 21 points or more.

 

How to keep score

Points are totaled after each round using cancellation scoring. If the cornhole bag made it into the hole, it is 3 points. If the cornhole bag landed and stays on the board, it is counted as 1 point. Cornhole bags that are hanging over the hole, or the edge of the board without touching the ground is considered 1 point. If at any point the bag touches the ground, it is considered dead and no points are awarded. 

 

How cancellation scoring works:  The net points are the ones counted after each round. For example: If team A gets 4 points, and team B gets 6 points, the first 4 points would cancel out and team B would only mark down 2 points for that round. 

The game is over when a team reaches 21 or over. There is no bust rule.

 

Interested in regulation cornhole bags? Explore: https://myjestix.com/collections/acl-bags/ACL

Interested in regulation cornhole boards? Explore: https://myjestix.com/collections/boards

Reading next

How to choose the right cornhole bags

Leave a comment

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.