What are the Cornhole Rules?
Equipment Needed:
Setup:
Place the cornhole boards 27 feet apart from each other, facing opposite directions. Here is a a diagram of the official distance between cornhole boards and other court dimensions.
Each player or team takes 4 bags of the same color.
Gameplay and Scoring:
Players take turns throwing their bags at the opposite board.
A bag that lands on the board scores 1 point.
A bag that goes through the hole in the board scores 3 points.
The first player or team to reach 21 points wins the game.
Typically cancellation scoring is used, meaning for every bag you have on the board or in the hole that the opponent also has on the board or in the hole, you score zero points.
Scoring Example: You have 2 bags in the hole and 1 on the board (3+3+1 = 7). Your opponent has 1 bag in the hole and 2 on the board (3+1+1) = 5. You score a net +2 points for that round
If a bag lands on the ground, it is considered a foul and does not score.
If a bag lands on the board and then falls off, it is considered a foul and does not score.
Additional Rules:
Players must throw from behind the front edge of the board.
The player or team who scores in a round throws first in the next round.
For all the official game rules check out the American Cornhole Associations PDF rules sheet
8 cornhole bags (4 per team) are thrown at 2 boards, with a distance between cornhole boards of 27 feet. Each team alternates throws and scores points depending on if the bag lands in the hole or on the board. Games are typically played to 21 with cancelation scoring usually in effect. Read below for more comprehensive game details!