Cornhole Rules Official | How to Play Cornhole

These are the detailed and official rules of cornhole. They follow exactly the rules set out by the American Cornhole Organization (ACO). This guide will serve as the official cornhole tournament rules for all Play Backyard Games cornhole tournaments. It can also be your go to “I told you so!” guide during any tailgate disputes on how to play cornhole the right way. Read on for the official cornhole rules.

Cornhole Rules: Equipment

(skip this section if you bought a regulation cornhole set of boards and bags from our store because we already followed all of these rules for you 😉 )

You need 8 bags to play cornhole

• 4 of one color and 4 of another color (i.e. 4 red & 4 blue)
• Each cornhole bag should be made from durable fabric (i.e. duck cloth or twill or suede)
• Each cornhole bag should weigh 15 to 16 oz. (filled with corn or plastic corn-size pellets)
• Each cornhole bag should measure 6″ x 6″ — yes, the bags are squares

You need 2 cornhole boards

• The playing surface (top) should be 48″ x 24″ and be at least 1/2″ thick plywood
• Each board should weigh at least 25 lbs. (you don’t want weak, floppy boards)
• A hole of 6″ diameter should be centered 9″ from the top
• The front of the board should be 4″ from the ground to top of playing surface, and the back playing surface should be 12″ from the ground to the top of the playing surface
• The playing surface should be sanded to a very smooth texture. A high gloss latex paint or varnish can also be applied.

Cornhole Rules: Court Layout

Cornhole should be played on a level rectangular area (like a backyard 😉 ) that is a minimum of 10 ft. by 45 ft.

The court consists of 2 cornhole boards that are set at a distance of 27′ apart — front edge to front edge.

Pitching boxes are located on the sides of the boards:

• You stand on opposite sides of the board as your opponent, and directly across from your teammate at the other board (if playing singles, players simply walk directly across to play the next frame)
• The front edge of the cornhole board is the foul line (you must stand behind this when throwing)

Cornhole Rules: Scoring

Cornhole games are played to 21 points, so the first team to reach 21 or greater is the winner!

You can score points in two ways:

• 1 point for landing your bag on the board (called a woody)
• 3 points for throwing your bag in the hole (called a cornhole)

Cornhole uses a method of scoring called cancellation scoring. The points of each frame cancel out and whatever points are left then go to the team that scored more. This means that only one team scores points each frame.

Cornhole scoring works like this:

• After all 8 bags have been thrown in the frame, calculate both team’s total score (3 for each bag in the hole and 1 for each bag on the board)
• Subtract the lesser score from the greater score and the remainder goes to the team that scored more
• Example:
  • Red team throws 3 in the hole and 1 on the board (10 points).
  • Blue team throws 2 in the hole and 2 on the board (8 points).
  • The first 8 points cancel, which leaves 2 points to Red team for the round. (10 – 8 = 2 points to the Red team)

*Bags that touch the ground or bounce after being thrown count as 0 points and are removed from the board before the next throw.

Cornhole Rules: Game Play

A game of cornhole is made up of a series of frames where 4 bags are thrown by each team.

Cornhole follows alternate shot game play. Players alternate throwing bags (one at a time) until both teams have thrown 4 bags.

Once all bags have settled, the frame is complete and points are awarded based on the scoring rules above.

If playing singles cornhole, then the 2 players walk to the board they were throwing to and start a new frame throwing back.

If playing doubles cornhole, the next frame is started by the two players at the boards that were just thrown to.

Frames continue until one team reaches 21 points to win the game.

Cornhole Rules: Important Tip

In conclusion, have fun! Cornhole is a great game and we think everyone should get to enjoy it. So get outside and play. With the rules of cornhole laid out this simply, you have no excuse. Now just make sure you win!