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We’re generally not super strict about the rules, and teams can feel free to work it out between each other if there is an issue or discrepancy, but if not, you can refer to these as the official rules. If something unique crops up that is not covered here, please ask a host to make a call.
You’ll need at least two players on each team (3 players needed for playoffs). Every team gets to throw four balls per round.
To kick things off, the team captains will do a coin toss or a game of rock, paper, scissors. The winner gets to choose either:
Who throws the pallino first
Which bocce ball color they prefer The losing team makes the other decision.
The team that starts will toss the pallino. It needs to land somewhere between the halfway line and the far end of the court.
If playing on grass, you are allowed to cross the back court line by one step when you throw, but no more. If you are 2 steps over, the ball will be considered out of play and the ball must be rethrown.
Any pallino throw that lands within 2 feet of the back-court line is considered a dead ball and should be re-thrown. The ball may remain (or you can just kick it in a little) if both teams are OK with it.
You must throw the bocce ball from between the left and right borders of the court, and it must land inside those same left and right borders. There are no limits on how close it can be to the left/right border, but if it's on the line, the ball should be rethrown (or gently kicked in-bounds if teams are OK with it).
If the pallino isn’t easy to see, you can mark it with a flag.
The player who threw the pallino, then throws one of their team’s bocce balls. After that, they step aside. The other team then takes their turn, trying to get their ball closer to the pallino. After both teams have thrown 1 ball, the team that is farthest away is the one that throws next, until they get closer, or have run out of balls.
All teammates must alternate throws, in a consistent order. No one should find themselves throwing the ball twice in a row. If you have four or fewer players on your team, everyone needs to throw at least once each frame. If you have enough people and want to split up and have half of your team stick to a consistent side of the field (e.g. 3 players stay at one end of the field, the other 3 remain at the opposite end), make sure the opposing team is OK with it before the game starts. Otherwise it could be considered an unfair advantage as one team will be used to consistently playing the field from one direction, and the other team will need to change things up every round. During playoffs, it's especially important to get the OK from your opposing team to split up the teams.
When your team gets a ball closer to the pallino than the other team, you step aside. The other team then throws until they “beat” your closest ball. This continues until both teams have thrown all their balls, and that’s the end of the frame!
Sometimes the balls are too close to tell visually who is closer. Using feet and hands for measurements is OK for very rough estimates, but for anything close, please use one of the provided tape measures or measuring strings. Missing your tape measure or measuring string? There should be one included in your bag of bocce balls, but if not, ask a host. Some people choose to use a measuring app on their phone, these are generally OK to use since they are unbiased, easy to use, and are known to be quite accurate.
If the pallino gets knocked out of bounds, that frame is called “dead,” and you just restart the frame (this can be a defensive strategy). The person that originally threw the pallino will throw it again. No points are given to either team for a “dead” frame - treat it as if the frame never started, and start again.
If a bocce ball is thrown out of bounds, and it doesn’t touch any other balls, it’s remains in play and can count towards the score, if no opposing balls are closer.
Bocce balls that are thrown in-bounds, but are later knocked out-of-bounds, by either team, are no longer in play. If an in-play ball, which is located out-of-bounds, is hit by another ball, by either team, both balls that collide out of bounds are no longer in play (it's like both balls were knocked of bounds, which means they're both dead balls).
A frame is complete when the pallino and all eight balls have been thrown. No points are awarded until the frame is complete.
The goal is simple: Get as many of your team’s balls closer to the pallino than the other team’s balls.
Only one team scores per frame. For example, if you have three green balls closer to the pallino than the closest red ball, the green team gets 3 points! The most points you can get in one frame is 4.
The team that scored in the last frame gets to throw the pallino to start the next one.
We don’t play “win by two” – once a team hits 16 points or higher, that’s it - The game is over!
A game will be considered a forfeit if 2 players are not present at game time (3 players during playoffs).
If a team forfeits, the score will be 16-0.