Rules To Bocce Ball
Bocce Ball is a game that has been played for thousands of years. It is amongst the oldest lawn games being played. Its origin can be traced to Egypt and began to spread by Roman soldiers after becoming popular with them.
Bocce ball is a competitive and strategic game that allows you to spend time playing with your friends outdoors.
Rules of playing Bocce Ball
Things required to play the game
- Bocce ball set.
- Players.
- A lawn/court.
Bocce ball set
The set includes 8 colored balls and one smaller ball known as Pallino or Jack. The 8 colored balls are usually of two colors with 4 balls in each color.
Players
There will be two teams with either one, two or four players on each team. More than 4 players on each team are not recommended as then not every player will get a chance to bowl.
Lawn or Court
A court is a better option as it would have all the boundaries and lines already there. But you can also mark the boundaries on your lawn. The court length is generally 60 feet long with a width of 12 feet. You can change the parameters according to the space available but the length should not be more than 90 feet and the width shouldn’t be more than 13 feet.
In the case of a court 60 feet in length and 12 feet width, you should draw a Center Line that is exactly 30 feet from both ends. Now you should have a Foul Line at 4 feet from both ends. Now draw a Hitting Line that is 10 feet from the Foul Line towards the Center Line on both sides.
Game Play
Now that everything’s in place let’s understand the steps and rules to play bocce ball.
- A coin is flipped that decides which team will throw the Pallino ball first.
- Once it is decided which team will throw the pallino ball, have one player from that team stand behind the foul line on their side. The player now has to throw the ball on the opposite side of the playing field. The ball should go past the center line and not more than the foul line on the opposite side. The throw should be made underhand.
If the pallino ball lands outside the playing area, the opposite team would get to throw the pallino ball then. - Now that the pallino ball is positioned the same player will get to throw the first bocce ball. The aim is to throw the bocce ball as close to the pallino ball as possible. The balls are to be thrown alternatively now by both the teams.
- The scoring is calculated as the team with the bocce ball closest to the pallino ball will win that round and get one point for it.
- The winner is declared once 12 points have been reached by a team or a number that is pre-decided by the teams. There should be a gap of at least 2 points between the teams.