Basic Rules of Cornhole - Exploring the Game

​Often called bean bag toss, cornhole is a lawn game played by tossing fabric sacks filled with plastic pellets toward a tilted board with a hole in the middle. Players stand at least 27 feet from the opposing board and compete individually or in teams. The game is centuries old, with some people tracing it to 14th century Germany, while others believe it originated in Kentucky in the 1800s. Over the years, competitive cornhole has evolved from a casual backyard game to a nationally televised sport with standard rules and regulations.

The American Cornhole Association oversees equipment standards and rules to promote fairness and consistency during matches. Regulation boards measure 2 feet by 4 feet and are made of wood with a centered hole cut out near the back of the board. The board tilts slightly toward the players, making the target (the hole) easily visible. In official competitions, players can only use approved fabric bags 6 inches by 6 inches in size. Games use eight bags divided evenly between teams, with each team’s bags a distinct color.

A standardized cornhole court for official competitions consists of two parallel lanes, with the total area measuring 8 feet wide by 40 feet long, and with sufficient overhead clearance to pitch the bags high in the air. Within each lane are two 4 foot by 3 foot pitching boxes at either end to designate where players will stand while tossing the bags, and there are boards at each end of the area. The boards sit between the boxes. A shared score tower helps track points between matches. Players must keep the playing surface and bags clear of anything that could affect game play.

Matches consist of alternating innings where teams take turns lobbing bags onto the opposite board. An inning starts with one player tossing their bag, followed by an opposing player. Teams throw one bag at a time until all eight bags have been pitched. Players have 20 seconds per throw. Play proceeds until either the 20-minute clock expires or one team reaches or surpasses 21 points, at which the team with the highest score wins.

Scoring only happens after each full inning when players have thrown all their bags. Landing a bag fully in the hole is worth three points, including those that fall in after being knocked off by another player's throw. Getting the bag to lay flat on the board or hang partially into the hole earns one point. A bag that hangs over the board's edge also counts as one point, unless it touches the ground. Players do not earn points if another player knocks their bag off the board during the round. Additionally, cornhole bags thrown outside the board boundaries or landing on the ground are “foul” and do not count.

Cornhole follows a scoring rule whereby the points earned by opposing teams cancel each other out, leaving only one team with a score each turn. For instance, if team A earns 4 points and team B gets 1 point, team A would record 3 points towards their total, i.e., 4 minus 1. Whichever team accrues more points in an inning throws first in the next round. Teams alternate throwing direction each inning as well.

The American Cornhole Association demands good sportsmanship through proper etiquette. The game's rules forbid profanity, insults, offensive gestures, loud noises, or actions intended to distract an opponent during their throw. Opposing players can call a timeout (pausing the game) or alert an official if conduct negatively impacts play. Officials will give warnings and can disqualify players for repeated infractions.

Josh Barney

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