Love horseshoes but don’t want to lug around heavy metal objects and stakes? Kids love the old-style Bozo the clown type bean bag toss but you don’t think it “adult” enough for your party? Why not try the corn hole bean bag toss?! It’s creative, convenient, and most of all fun for people of all ages.
The supply list is simple:
Field of play
An area a.k.a. court to play on
Cones, string, tape, or anything capable of marking off areas and foul lines
Tossing Boxes (Corn hole Platform):
(2) 48″ X 24″ rectangle made of half inch plywood
Tools for cutting into plywood
Sand paper
High gloss latex paint-preferably white
Corn Bags
(2) Fabric Squares of duck canvas (any color)/per bag
Thread and a needle (or a sewing machine)
2 cups of corn feed/per bag
Construction of Platform
1. Clear an area that is at least 10 feet wide and 45 feet long. In this area there will be two tossing boxes, four pitchers boxes (one on each side of both tossing boxes), and foul lines places in front of the pitcher’s boxes.
2. The pitchers box should be marked off using tape or chalk if on a hard surface or cones or flags if on a grassy surface. Each box is a 4X3 foot area.
3. Place the two tossing boxes 27 feet apart (the holes will be 33 feet apart). The tossing boxes are 48X24 made out of the half inch of plywood. The hole should be 6″ in diameter and centered 9″ from the top and 12″ from each side of the platform edges.
4. The back of each platform will be 12″ off the ground and the front will be 4″ creating a 90 degree angle.
5. Sand the platforms down smooth and paint with high gloss paint to allow the corn hole bag to slide down.
Construction of Corn Hole Bag
Each corn hole bag will consist of two pieces of fabric sewn together creating at least a 6X6 inch square filled with 2 cups of corn feed. At least eight bags are needed
1. Take two sturdy pieces of fabric (I recommend 7X7 inch squares of duck canvas)
2. Match up corners and sew or hand-stitch ½” border to secure pieces together leaving a small opening. Double stitch to secure more firmly.
3. Using a funnel, fill square with 2 cups of corn feed (this will cause the bag to weigh approximately 14 to 16 ozs)
4. Hand-stitch the remainder of the fabric shut
5. Use two different colors of fabric for different team to use (**I recommend that no matter what type of fabric you use, it is durable and water resistant)
Playing the Game
1. Play in either single or double teams. If single, both contestants pitch from the same side and if double, players from opposite teams pitch against each other.
2. Each player alternates throwing all four bags. Note: If playing doubles, the first two opponents throw all four from one end of the platform against one another and then the second two opponents throw from the other end of the platform.
3. Player can choose what side of the box to throw from, but all bags during that “inning” must be tossed from the same side (pitchers box)
4. All bags must be thrown with the same arm
5. There is a time limit on how long you have to throw (some say 20 seconds; some say 30)
6. The player who scored in the preceding inning shall pitch first in the next inning. If no one scores then that player who pitched last shall pitch first in the next inning.
Scoring
**Bags aren’t scored until all bags have been thrown**
1. In the hole: 3 points (can be tossed in, knocked in, slide in, etc.)
2. On the platform: 1 point (cannot touch the ground at any point or will be considered a foul)
3. Off the platform: 0 points and remove bag from court
4. Tosses can cancel one another out. For instance, Bob from Team 1 throws a bag in the hole. Jim from Team 2 throws two bags in the hole. One of Jim’s bags cancel Bob’s bag thus the score would be Jim-3 points and Bob-0 points
5. Play up to 21 points
The most important rule
Have fun! Remember if you don’t win the first game, you might win the next. There are different variations to this game. Some people include more tossing holes on the platform for different point values; some people play to higher amounts of points; some people only throw three bags. No matter what you determine your rules to be, corn hole bean bag toss is a great game for adults, kids, and anyone age 3-99!
For complete scoring regulations and layout diagrams please visit: www.playcornhole.org
