Cornhole Rules
The Cornhole rules presented here are the "traditional" way Cornhole is played in the Cincinnati area. There are variations that have developed and some of the alternative Cornhole rules are also explained below.
Cornhole Rules - Traditional
Setup
The Cornhole boards are set facing each other with 24 feet between the front of each board. Some tournament rules use 27 feet between the fronts. There are two opponents in a game. Opponents may be single players (singles) or teams of two players (doubles). In singles the players stand by a Cornhole board and move back and forth between boards as play progresses. In doubles a person from each team stands by each of the two boards. The objective is to throw all four of your Cornhole bags from one board to the other and to either land on the board, or land in the hole.
Play:
Bags are thrown by alternating between players. The player that has control of play will throw the first Cornhole bag. If any time during the throw the players foot advances past the Foul Line it is considered a Foot Foul. After the first bag is thrown, the second player throws his bag and they alternate in that manner until all 4 bags are thrown. In singles the players will move between Cornhole boards between rounds. In doubles, the other team members will play the bags from the board where they are standing. Play continues alternating between players until the game is over as discussed in Winning.
Scoring:
Scoring is as follows: a Cornhole bag in the hole is worth 3 points, and a bag anywhere on the board is worth 1 point. Scoring only occurs at the end of each round, so that points during the round cancels out the other player's points. For instance, if Player One has one bag in the hole and Player Two has one in the hole, no net points are scored for those bags. The same applies to points for bags on the board. At the end of each round all points are added up for each player and the low score is subtracted from the high score. The result is that only the player with the most points scores during the round.
Bags being thrown may move other bags when they land on the game board which may alter its scoring value. A bag could either be knocked off the board or could be knocked into the hole. Since scoring takes place at the end of the round, the position of the bag at the end of the round determines its scoring value.
Example: Team A makes 2 bags in the hole and 1 bag on top. Team B makes 1 bag in the hole and 3 bags on top. Team A has a gross of 7 points, and team B a gross of 6 points. Therefore, Team A wins that round with one point. 7- 6 = 1. Team A then adds 1 point to their total points for the game and team B scores 0 for that round. The same result is obtained by counting the bags not canceled. Team A has a net of 1 bag in the hole and team B has a net of 2 bags on top resulting in 3 - 2 = 1.
"Dead" Bags & Foot Fouls:
Any Cornhole bag that touches the ground is considered "dead" at the time it touches the ground. Thus, any bag that hits the ground and then "bounces" onto the Cornhole board is not counted. Normally a "dead" bag is removed during play although in singles the players may elect to leave them on the board to avoid continually walking between boards. The bags are still "dead" for scoring purposes. Also any bag that the dead bag moves on the board would be moved back to its approximate original position.
The Foul Line is a line across the front of the Cornhole board the players are standing beside. In some cases the line is marked and in others it is an imaginary line extending out from the board. If a players foot crosses the foul line during the toss that bag is also considered "dead" and would be handled in the same manner as above. This is a Foot Foul.
Control of Play:
The player that scored in the previous round throws first for the next round. If no scoring takes place in any round, then the same player retains control for all the following rounds until points are scored.
Winning:
Points are accumulated for a game by scores in successive rounds as discussed in Scoring. The first player that gets to 21 and leads by at least 2 points wins the game. If the score is 1 point difference or less when one player reaches 21, then play continues until one player is ahead by 2 points at the end of a round. A player is not penalized for throwing more than 21 points. Since points are scored by round, (ie. - only one player scores per round) each round is always completed before points are accumulated and winners are determined. In team play, the game ends after the round where team either team has 21 and leads by at least 2.
If one player gets to 11 before the other player has scored 1, then the game is a skunk, and the team with 11 wins that game. A skunk is a score of 11 to 0.
Cornhole Rules - Variations
These variations in Cornhole rules are some of the differences that have developed over time. Any or all of the rules may be combined with the "traditional" Cornhole rules to make for a variety of playing experiences. The players should agree to the variations prior to play.
Play:
The player that has control throws the first bag and continues until all 4 bags are thrown. Then the other player throws his 4 bags.
Scoring:
A Cornhole bag in the hole cancels out any bags on top of the board for the opposing team. All of the bags from a team that made one bag in the hole for that round are supreme. However, if each team has an equal number of bags in the hole, then bags on top of the board are counted in a normal manner.
Example 1: Team A throws one in the hole and three on top. Team B throws all four on top. Team A gets 6 points for the one in the hole plus their 3 on top. All of the opposing teams points on top are void because of the one in the hole.
Example 2: Team A throws one in the hole and three on top. Team B throws one in the hole and two on top. Since both teams made one in the hole, those points cancel each other out, and points on top of the board are counted in the normal manner. Since Team A made three on top and Team B made two on top, Team A gets 1 point.
Example 3: Team A throws one in the hole. Team B throws all four on top. Team A gets 3 points for the round because their bag in the hole cancels out all the opposing teams points.
Control of Play:
Control of play is established as in the main rule (winner of the previous round has control). However in this variation, if there is no score for 2 rounds control then alternates between teams until one team scores again and regains control.
Winning:
In this variation, the first team to 21 wins the game. The difference is that there is no requirement to win by 2 points.
