Official Cornhole Rules – What You Need to Know

Cornhole Rules: What You need to Know to Play Cornhole

Cornhole is a highly entertaining game for people of all ages that has exploded in popularity in recent years. No surprise there, the game is highly addictive and is fun for all ages.

If you’re looking to jump in and see what all the buzz is about, here’s everything you need to know to get started playinhg Cornhole today!

Cornhole is a game of strategy and skill. Always a hit at tailgating parties, cornhole game play consists of two opponents (or teams) facing each other in front of two boards with 6” holes. Each player takes turns throwing four cornhole bags in the direction of the opponent’s board.

The objective of a cornhole game is to be the first team to reach a score of 21. Seems simple enough, right? Read on to learn more.

The team that scores the most points in a round wins the round.

Follow the link to download a printable cornhole rules PDF.

The winner of a round earns the difference in points between the two teams’ scores.

For example, team A scored 12 points, team B 6 points. The difference is, therefore, 6 points.

Team A wins 6 points. Cancellation scoring is also referred to as “Net Scoring”

Another inning starts again, this is repeated until a score of 21 is reached or exceeded.

Like a game of 1:1, Two players compete against one another until a single winner is determined.

Two teams, consisting of two players, compete against one another until a winning team is determined.

We like to keep it simple and do a coin toss. Whoever wins the coin flip gets to chose direction of play (left/right side pitchers box) or first cornhole bag toss (but not both).

After net score for an inning is determined, the player who earned points in the last inning get to pitch their cornhole bag first in the subsequent inning. If the net score for an inning is a wash (ie – no points scored), the team/player who pitched first in the prior inning will continue to pitch first.

Can You Bust in Cornhole?

According to official rules, it doesn’t matter if you go over 21 (AKA “bust”). However, many non-formal backyard games require an exact score of 21 and if an opponent goes over, the score resets back to a predetermined amount (often 15).

These games can go on for hours, especially if opponents are closely matched so make sure you’ve got plenty of cold beverages near by if your playing this way.

Whether playing for fun in the back yard, or prepping for a career as an ACL Pro, you’ll want to ensure your equipment and cornhole court is setup in alignment with regulation play, per the American Cornhole Association. Keeping the cornhole court a consistent distance will help you develop as a player and ensure more consistent game play.

Distance between cornhole boards

The two boards must be located 27 feet apart, and the players must throw from behind (the front edge) of their board. This is the adult play foul line. For younger players, a junior play foul line is an line 12-15 feet between the front of each board. When setting up cornhole boards for youth games, its best to keep the distance at 12-15 feet (to match the foul line with the front edge of the cornhole board).

With regular and consistent cornhole practice, your aim and ability to place the bags strategically will improve, which will eventually turn you into a great player.

A great way to think of a designated Pitcher’s Box is an imaginary rectangular space 4×3 ft along the side of the cornhole board you’re tossing from. Basically, if you don’t drift beyond the 4ft length of the board (ie – the front edge leading up to the foul line) and further than 3ft away from the board on the side, you’ll be in great shape (easy enough, so long as you haven’t had a few too many! 🤣.

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Top players can use advanced tossing techniques to elevate their cornhole games, like the block – as the name implies to block the other opponent from scoring, or flop shot (AKA “the Rollover”) in response to a block to effectively have the bag rollover the opponents tossed bag and into the hole. Spoiler Alert – we’ll cover these (and other cornhole trick shots) in an upcoming blog post as well as the best cornhole bags to use depending on your style of play.

You can quickly see how cornhole can become like a game of chess, depending on the player’s skill level.

The Basics: You don’t need much to enjoy a great cornhole game. It can be played with two sets of cornhole bags, two cornhole boards, and two to four players.

You’ll need eight cornhole bags (two sets of four bags, each set of bags should be distinguishable from others) measuring 6 by 6 inches (15 by 15 cm) and weighing 15.5 to 16.5 ounces (440 to 470 g).

At Cornhole Canvas, all our cornhole board sets come with two sets of durable, duck cotton regulation bags.

You’ll need two Cornhole Boards (2 by 4 feet). The hole in your cornhole board should be exactly 6-inch (150 mm) in diameter and 9 inches (230 mm) from the top of the board. We may be biased, but we believe the quality of your play can be enhanced by playing on a premium cornhole board.

Each cornhole board should be angled so that the top edge of the playing surface is 300 mm (12 inches) above the ground, and the bottom edge is 76-102 mm (3-4 inches) above the ground.

For a regular playing field, the holes are spaced 33 feet (10 m) apart or 8.2 m (27 feet) between the platforms’ bottoms. As mentioned earlier, shorter distances may be used when young players are involved, or there is insufficient space.

Let’s get to the heart of the matter. Is it simply a matter of throwing the bag into the hole and scoring points? Maybe it is.

Even if you play cornhole just for fun, it’s definitely more fun if you win more often than you lose. Who doesn’t like to win, right? In this section, you’ll find 5 tips for beginners that will help you improve your performance.