Playing Bocce Ball: An Overview

Bocce ball is among the oldest of all yard games. Most popular in Italy, it is gaining fans in North America, being a game that suits people of all ages and practically any kind of surface. Bocce is a two-player or two-team (4 players max each) game.

The Goal of Bocce

The object of Bocce is has as many of your bocce, or the bigger heavier balls, as close to the pallino, or smaller target ball, as possible. If your bocce does end up nearer the pallino than your opponent's, you will be given points.

Bocce Ball Playing Surfaces

Bocce ball may be played on a lot of different flat surfaces, such as bocce ball Courts, lawns or beach sand. A big area is required to make the game more exciting. A bocce ball court is around 76 feet long and 12 feet wide. With or without the court, the game however can be equally enjoyable. Learn more about bocce by checking out https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bocce.

Bocce Ball Scores

As soon as all balls have been thrown, players will see how far the balls are from the Jack. Every team's ball which is nearer to the target ball than the any ball of the other team, gets 1 point. The total points on a game are set, usually 12, 15 or 21.

Playing Bocce Ball with Beach or Backyard Rules

Players are split into two teams, each of which is composed of one, two or four players. Each team has four balls which are divided equally among the different players. A coin toss is the usual way to decide which team plays first.

Beginning the game requires a player from one team standing behind the foul line - about 10 feet away from the court's throwing edge) - and throwing the pallino (the small ball) toward the other end of the playing surface or dc bocce ball court. That same player then throws one bocce ball, getting it as close to the pallino as possible but without the two balls touching.

The next team will then throw a ball closer to the pallino than the first team's ball. If the second team gets closer, then it's the first team turn. Otherwise, team two keeps throwing until they finally get a ball closer to the pallino, or until there have used all their balls. Then the first team will throw every bocce ball they have. The team that has the closest ball is awarded one point for every ball that is nearer the pallino than the opposite team's closest ball. If the closest balls of the two teams have equal distance from the pallino, no team gets a point.


End the frame the moment all balls have been thrown and the right points have been credited. Starting the next frame is the team that scores. If no team got a score, the team which threw the pallino last starts the next frame. Frames can be played as needed until a team gains a total score of 16 points. Click here to check out updates about the game.

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