Cornhole Rules (Bean Bag Toss)

Boy playing cornhole, bean bag tossed in the air.

How to play cornhole

Cornhole, also sometimes called beanbag toss, is a great game to play with the whole family. It’s a simple game that can be played by anyone at any age or level of skill.

The object of cornhole is to land a bag into a hole in the cornhole board to score points.
Players take turns throwing bags. You can play individually, as doubles, or in teams.

How to set up cornhole playing area

Two Cornhole platforms should be placed with the front edges 27 feet apart on a flat surface. For a casual game you can set up the boards 24 feet apart.

The pitching area is located on either side of the Cornhole board, with the foul line being the front edge of each board.

Each player will toss from anywhere behind the front of the Cornhole board from which they are throwing, but all tosses should be taken from the same side of the board as the first toss.

Cornhole Game Play

  • In Cornhole doubles each team member shall stand at opposite Cornhole boards on the same side. In singles play both players will throw from the same board.
  • Each team will have 4 bags of one color; all 8 Cornhole bags begin at one end.
  • You will need to determine which team will go first (flipping of a coin is a good way). The first team will then begin by throwing a Cornhole bag at the opposite platform.
  • Each player will take alternate throws until all 8 Cornhole bags have been thrown. After all 8 bags have been tossed then count the points scored during the round.
  • After scoring, the team members on the opposite end will then take their turns in the same manner. The team scoring the most points in the previous round will throw first to start the turn.
  • The winner is determined when a team reaches the 21 points.

Cornhole Scoring Rules

Throws in cornhole are scored as follows:

ThrowPoints
Bag goes through the hole completely3 points
Bag remains on the playing surface
Bag is hanging into the hole, but does not fall completely through
Bag is hanging off the edge of the platform, but does not touch the ground
1 point
Bag hits the ground before coming to rest on the platform
Bag is on the playing surface, but is also touching the ground or another bag that lies on the ground
Bag that is hanging off the front edge and is resting on a cornhole bag that is on the ground
0 points

A bag that bounces on to the board from the ground should be removed before the next player’s turn.

The difference of both teams’ scores is the score given to the highest scoring team (if team A scores 4 points and team B scores 3, then team A is awarded 1 point).

If both teams score the same amount, no team will receive any points.

Printable Instructions Card

How to Play Cornhole

Boy playing cornhole, bean bag tossed in the air.

How to play cornhole: basic rules.

Tools

  • Cornhole board
  • 8 Cornhole beanbags
  • A measuring tape

Instructions

Set up Play area

  1. Two Cornhole platforms should be placed with the front edges 27 feet apart on a flat surface. For a casual game you can set up the boards 24 feet apart.
  2. The pitching area is located on either side of the Cornhole board, with the foul line being the front edge of each board.

Gameplay

  1. Each player will toss from anywhere behind the front of the Cornhole
    board from which they are throwing, but all tosses should be taken from
    the same side of the board as the first toss.
  2. In Cornhole doubles each team member shall stand at opposite Cornhole boards on the same side. In singles play both players will throw from the same board.
  3. Each team will have 4 bags of one color; all 8 Cornhole bags begin at one end.
  4. You will need to determine which team will go first (flipping of a coin is a good way). The first team will then begin by throwing a Cornhole bag at the opposite platform.
  5. Each player will take alternate throws until all 8 Cornhole bags have been thrown. After all 8 bags have been tossed then count the points scored during the round.
  6. After scoring, the team members on the opposite end will then take their turns in the same manner. The team scoring the most points in the previous round will throw first to start the turn.
  7. The winner is determined when a team reaches the 21 points.

Scoring rules

Bag goes through the hole completely: 3 points

Bag remains on the playing surface: 1 point

Bag is hanging into the hole, but does not fall completely through: 1 point

Bag is hanging off the edge of the platform, but does not touch the ground: : 1 point

Bag hits the ground before coming to rest on the platform [Note 1]: 0 points

Bag is on the playing surface, but is also touching the ground or another bag that lies on the ground: 0 points

Bag that is hanging off the front edge and is resting on a cornhole bag that is on the ground: 0 points

The difference of both teams’ scores is the score given to the highest scoring team (if team A scores 4 points and team B scores 3, then team A is awarded 1 point).

If both teams score the same amount, no team will receive any points.

Notes

  1. A bag that bounces on to the board from the ground should be removed before the next player’s turn.

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