Cornhole

What is cornhole?

While there is no certain history to cornhole, it is a game that is rumored to have begun in Germany and eventually resurfaced in the hills of Kentucky. No matter where it originated, the game has become widely popular for players of all ages. The game is played with two wooden boards propped up on legs, and eight bean bags called cornhole bags. It can be played one-on-one or in doubles.

Playing Surface

In setting up the game, the boards must be twenty-seven feet apart, and players cannot step in front of the board when they throw their bag. The top of the board will be a foot off the ground, and the front only three to four inches. This way, the board is angled down toward the throwers. The surface has to be rough enough that the bags do not slip down the front of the board when they land.

Objectives

The objective for players is to get their team's cornhole bags either on the board or through the hole in the board. If a bag is thrown and lands on the board, it is a bag-on-the-board and it is worth one point. If the bag goes through the hole in the board, it is a bag-in-the-hole and it is worth three points. In one inning, all eight bags will be tossed. After all have been tossed, points will be counted and the team with more points will earn the difference between their points and the other teams. After points are counted, bags are collected and the next inning will start. The team who won the last inning will throw first in the next one.

Scoring and Winning

In order to win, a player or team must reach a score of twenty-one at the end of an inning. If they reach twenty-one during an inning, but their bag is knocked off the board, they must go another inning to try to get back to twenty-one. Players often use their own bags to knock others off the board to lower their points.