How to Play Bocce Ball (Rules and Scoring)

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Learn how to play Bocce ball for beginners with this guide to the rules, scoring, and field setup of this entertaining backyard game.

Bocce ball is a simple yet fun game to play in the backyard or the park. Over the years, I have become a big fan of Bocce and have played many games with friends and family.

In this article, I will explain what Bocce is, how the rules work, and how best to play this game in the backyard. Note that the rules below are for casual play, not official regulation play.

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The game of Bocce Ball is one of the oldest games in the world. Quite literally, because it was a popular game in ancient Greece and Rome, and even before that in Egypt.

Bocce ball, or just bocce, is a simple game that can easily be played at home. The name “bocce” is derived from the Italian word “boccia”, which means bowl. Bocce is simply the plural form: bowls.

You can think of bocce much like lawn bowling. Although, unlike in lawn bowling, bocce balls are spherical and evenly weighted. There is not much to the outdoor bocce ball rules, and the equipment needed is very minimal.

To explain Bocce ball, I am going to walk you through the following sections:

1. Equipment
2. Game Setup
3. How to Play
4. Scoring

1. Equipment

To play a game of Bocce, you will need the following:

• Jack:
  Also called the boccino (little bocce, or “little bowl”) or pallino (“little bullet”). It’s a small white ball that functions as the target.
• Bocce balls:
  These are the larger patterned balls that you throw. One set contains eight Bocce balls. The balls typically come in two or four different colors.
• Measuring device:
  Most Bocce sets include a measuring device. It can be a ruler, tape measure, or marked-out string.
• Playing field:
  This can be a patch of lawn or soft ground. It needs to be level. For recreational play, there is no need to build an official court, but for reference, an official Bocce court is 87 feet long and 13.1 feet wide, and has a center line. Recommended Bocce court dimensions for recreational play are 60 x 12 feet.

If you’d like to learn more about official bocce courts, read my guide on bocce court dimensions for a diagram with all the necessary lines and markers.

2. Game Setup

The game is played by 2 teams and 2-8 players:

• One-versus-one (4 balls for each player)
• Two-versus-two (2 balls for each player)
• Four-versus-four (1 ball for each player)

To begin the game, designate a throwing line, which can be marked with a rope or paint. All players must throw their balls from behind this line (also called the fault line).

Next, select a player to throw the Jack using a toin coss. The location where it lands will serve as the target for that round. The Jack must land behind the center line and within the court’s boundaries.

The winner of the current round will throw the Jack in the subsequent round. Typically, players throw from the opposite side of the court in subsequent rounds.

3. Game Objective

The objective of Bocce is to throw and land your team’s Bocce balls as close as possible to the Jack.

Points are awarded after each round when all players have thrown their Bocce balls.

Bocce balls can only be thrown underhand, which can involve rolling, bouncing, and tossing.

If you’d like to learn more about ball throwing styles and techniques, check out my guide on how to throw a bocce ball, which goes through the stance, grips, and techniques so you can improve your skills.

4. Rules and Scoring

Teams take turns throwing their Bocce balls until both teams have thrown all 8 balls, which completes one round.

During play, the team that has a ball closest to the Jack is “in” and the opposing team is “out”. The “in” team steps aside to let the opposing team throw their balls until they are “in” or until they have thrown all their balls.

After the completion of a round, points are calculated as follows:

• Only one team can be awarded points at the end of a round.
• One point is awarded for each ball of one team that is closer to the Jack than the closest ball of the opposing team.
• Two points are awarded for a ball that touches the Jack.
• If both teams have their closest ball at the same distance to the Jack, no points are awarded (use the measuring device to confirm). In this case, the round has to be re-played.

Teams can decide how long they want games to go on for. Here are some examples:

• Best of three rounds (team wins the game when two rounds are won).
• First team to reach 11 points (with minimum 2 points difference).
• First team to reach 15 points (with minimum 2 points difference).

More rules to be aware of:

• If a player fails to properly toss the Jack (behind the center line and within court boundaries), the toss goes to the opposing team.
• The winner of a round tosses the Jack for the next round and gets the first throw.
• In a court with walls, a ball can hit the side walls.
• In a court with walls, a ball cannot hit the back wall unless it makes contact with a ball in play first.
• Players must throw with both feet behind the fault line.

Are you ready to start playing this game? Read my bocce ball set guide with reviews of good-quality and affordable Bocce sets.