These Cornhole rules are meant to be easy to understand. There are some rules out there that are pages and pages that basically say the same thing you see below. Cornhole is a pretty simple game. These rules are both simple and complete. They are also the most common “official” rules of the game. We figure there’s no reason to complicate things. Enjoy!
Getting Started
- For casual play, boxes are generally set up 24ft apart from front of box to box. (For tournament play, boxes are set up 27ft apart from front of box to box)
- To play the game you will need two teams.
- Teams can be made up of either one or two people each.
- For singles play (1 per team), opponents start and play from the same end.
- For doubles play (2 per team), teammates should line up next to opposite boxes and on opposite sides.
- Start with all bags (8) at one end.
How to Play
- Previous game winner or coin toss should determine which team throws the first bag.
- Alternate throws between teams until all bags are thrown.
- The foul line is made by the front of the boxes and all throws must be made from behind the foul line.
- If a player breaks the foul line or throws out of turn, the player will lose a turn.
- The team that scores the most points in a round, starts the throwing for the next round.
- If the round is tied the last team to win a round throws first.
- Any bag that touches the ground during a throw should be removed from the board and not counted.
Points
- 1 point for any bag thrown that is on the board but not touching the ground.
- 3 points for any bag in the hole
- Any bag that touches the ground during the throw or while hanging from the board does not count.
Tallying the Score
- For each throwing round, the team with the most points wins the round and subtracts the other team’s points from theirs.
- The difference is added to the team’s score that won the round.
- The first team to 21 wins.
31 responses so far ↓
1 Andy // May 15, 2007 at 2:33 pm
For some fun and to keep the game a little more balance for teams that are not as good, we like to change up the scoring.
The only difference is we make it so that you have to hit 21 points on the nose to win. If you go over 21, then you move back to 17 points.
This takes some strategy for each team sometime throwing off the board. It lets the team that is behind also have a better chance of catching up.
2 Phil // Jun 4, 2007 at 12:59 am
We play NBA jam rules where if a player throws a double deuce, they are “on fire” and they keep tossing until they fail to get a cornhole.
3 Wayne // Jul 15, 2007 at 12:13 am
if you go over 21 do all palyers throw in all the bags?? and then the turm is over ??
please reply.
thanks
4 Eric // Jul 16, 2007 at 9:34 pm
Hello Wayne,
Most do not play bust. I you do play bust and you cannot go over 21 without going back to 15, then you would just throw away your bags once you hit 21. This is of course unless your competor makes a point. Then you need to make another to keep your 21.
If yo do not play bust, you would play out the round even if you hit 21. If your competetor has bags left, they may cancel out some points and keep you from winning.
5 Cody // Jul 18, 2007 at 1:30 pm
Is a round after 1 player from each team throws each of their 4 bags or is a round after both players from both teams throw (which would be a total of 16 bags thrown, 8 from each team)?
6 Eric // Jul 18, 2007 at 10:50 pm
Cody,
A round is after 8 bags are thrown, 1 player from each team, from the same side. Great question!
7 Gregg cornking // Jun 21, 2008 at 12:21 am
Another scoring idea is when you hit 21 the other team has a chance to catch up and beat your score if they can do it in one turn. If they do, you get a chance to get a head again until the score is final and the other team can not catch you.
8 david // Jul 13, 2008 at 4:02 pm
We had to open one of our bags that we made after 6 months. We found a lot of black bugs in it. Is there something to treat the corn with for bugs before we fill the bags. Thanks.
9 Eric // Jul 16, 2008 at 6:49 am
Hello David,
I don’t know of anything that is not toxic like bug spray. For storage, you can keep them in a sealed Ziploc or Tupperware container to make sure nothing gets at them.
10 Jason // Aug 16, 2008 at 12:40 am
I play bust where you have to hit 21 on the nose or you go back to 13, but i dont know how to score it. For instance say Team 1 has 20 total and they throw a cornhole on the first throw. Ok that gives them 23, so what does the other player do? Do they just throw their bags away?
11 Eric // Aug 18, 2008 at 6:57 am
Jason,
Because everyone else would just throw off for the rest of that throwing sequence, once you go over you would just send the bags down to the other end to start the next sequence.
12 Cornhole Dude // Aug 31, 2008 at 12:00 pm
Yeah, that bug problem sucks. I think a lot of people are going for bags that don’t use corn anymore. They don’t lose their filling or raise a cloud of dust when they hit either.
Hope you guys don’t mind me jumping in the conversation. I just found this and love talking about cornhole. You got a LOT of great stuff in here! Thanks for putting it together!
13 Jessi // Jun 28, 2009 at 4:58 pm
If you look at the American Cornhole Association and the American Cornhole Orginization they say to put your boards 33 feet from center hole to center hole or 27 feet from front to front this page says 30 feet from center hole to center hole. Which is correct?
14 Kim // Jun 30, 2009 at 2:30 pm
I’m with Jessi… very confused as to how far apart the boards are suppose to be? Just made our first set of boards and want to get ready for a t’ment… but don’t know which length is correct.
15 Ben // Jul 6, 2009 at 10:30 am
Jessi and Kim,
For tournaments, the correct distance is 27 feet from front of board to front of board (which is also 33 feet from center hole to center hole). Most people when they are playing “leisurely” will put the boards 24 feet from front to front, but if I were you, I’d keep it at 27 just to get used to it. Have fun!
16 mickey // Aug 4, 2009 at 11:05 am
can you pitch the bags overhand like shooting free throws in basketball??
17 Ben // Aug 4, 2009 at 11:11 am
Mickey,
You can pitch the bags however you want as long as you don’t cross the front of the board (the foul line).
18 Faye // Sep 11, 2009 at 2:08 pm
How long and wide should the boards be? Also, How be should the hole be? and how do you determine where the hole gos??
19 Faye // Sep 11, 2009 at 2:09 pm
How long and wide should the boards be? Also, How be should the hole be? and how do you determine how long the boards are?
20 Ben // Sep 11, 2009 at 2:11 pm
Faye,
The boards are 2 feet wide by 4 foot long. The hole is 6 inches in diameter centered 12 inches from the sides of the board and 9 inches from the top of the board.
21 Diane // Dec 22, 2009 at 11:26 pm
You need to bake your corn in the oven at 250 degrees for 1 hour and 20 minutes to kill the worms/bugs that are laying dormant in the corn. If you do this you won’t have any problem with the cornhole bags.
22 P Su // May 17, 2010 at 11:35 am
How long are the legs?
23 mickey // May 17, 2010 at 1:32 pm
The legs should be long enough to make the hole end of the board 12 inches high!
24 mike s. // Jun 1, 2010 at 11:08 pm
If you play bust and exceed 21 and still have bags to toss that round can you start to score again? Say you bust on your first toss, you have three more to throw. Can you score?
25 Mike K // Jun 4, 2010 at 11:36 am
Mike S. the answer is no. You can only count the points at the end of the round so no matter how many points you go over you still go back to 13 or whatever number you agreed on starting the next round.
26 Davey Jones // Jun 5, 2010 at 8:31 pm
Simply put the corn hole bags in the freezer for 24 hours. That will take care of any bugs. Store them in the freezer once you are done using them.
27 mike s. // Jun 6, 2010 at 4:50 pm
Mike S
If you can’t score, is that round dead at the point someone goes over 21? Or, my question is. Can you keep scoreing from 13 in the round you bust?
28 Mike K // Jun 6, 2010 at 6:20 pm
Yes, the round is dead at the point you go over. This is due to the fact that the other team need only throw all thier bags away to cause you to go over 21. To save time, just send the bags over to the other side to start the next round with your score going back to 13 and the other team remaining where they were.
I really hate playing with these rules. It’s so much simpler to just reward the team that reaches 21 or more first. This isn’t blackjack but some would like to make it that way. In my opinion, the game should use a handicap system similar to golf. That way you keep the rules simple and the playing field can be evenly matched. It doesn’t have to be an offical handicap system for casual playing either. If you are just playing casual games then it is easier to simply make sure good players team up with the not so good players. And use some common sense and spot some points to teams you know are not that good at the game. Make it fun for everyone and everyone has a good time.
29 rob // Jun 11, 2010 at 10:29 pm
great site! where or what site is the best place to get good quality bags (multiple colors)? corn?!
30 mickey // Jun 12, 2010 at 7:01 am
I guess corn is pretty good. For buying bags, go on Ebay and find someone selling them that lives close by you. That way you don’t pay shipping. I’ve met people at White Castle, McDonald’s, at their house, etc. Don’t pay over $15 for a set of 8 unless their made up special.
31 Lindsay // Jun 22, 2010 at 1:35 am
When we play, if one team gets more than 21, we make them start over again… Say one team gets 23, they start over at 2. It makes the games longer, but it is all good fun!
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