GAMEPLAY
For you experienced bocce enthusiasts, you know the rules and you can adapt the game to suit your playing style. For newcomers, think of bocce as horseshoes that move. Instead of a stationary pin, you have a pallino that moves and in place of shoes you use balls.
Designers Note: We have massaged the standard bocce rules to make this version of the game more fun to play. The best example of this is the addition of the 45-degree corners. Unlike court bocce that does not have the 45s, one is not penalized for hitting the back “wall”. The 45s add a new dimension to the game as you can play the corners and get behind balls. Bottom line: Play however you want to play, just HAVE FUN!
Set-up: Place game on table or floor and level from end to end and then side to side using the adjustable feet and included level. No need to lift table, just spin leveler with finger. (End to end leveling is not as important as side to side)
Players: The game is played with two teams; each team can have 1, 2 or 3 players
Object: Get as many of your balls closer to the pallino than the opposing team’s closest ball.
Play: The pitch foul line is the end of board. Your ball must be released before the throwing end of the board. Make up your own penalties for this one. Be creative and make it fun. Feet must remain inside the pitch box but arms may be extended outward to either side to throw ball. Toss a coin to determine which team will start. The starting team chooses which color they will play with. The first team member throws the pallino and then throws their first ball as close to pallino as possible. The pallino must go past center. If not the opposing team throws the pallino to begin the game. It’s now up to the opposing team to throw a ball closer to the pallino than the starting team. This team will continue to roll until one of their balls is closer than the first team. If the opposing team uses all four balls and fails to get closer to the pallino than the starting team’s ball, the starting team rolls each of their remaining balls, trying to place them closer than the opponent’s closest ball. However, if the opposing team succeeds in placing one of their balls closer to the pallino, the starting team must then throw again to attempt to get closer or “better the point”. Each team continues to throw until it beats the point of the opposite team. While the object is to get all of your balls closer to the pallino, it is permissible for a player to roll their ball as to knock an opponents ball away from the pallino. Likewise, a player may knock or move the pallino toward their own team’s balls. The pallino is playable anywhere past the center of the board.
Scoring: When all balls have been played, this concludes the frame and ONE team is awarded one point for each of their balls which is closer to the pallino than the closest opposing team’s ball. Thus ONE team may score up to four points per frame. If the closest ball of each team is equal in distance from the pallino, NO points are awarded. The team that scores in a frame starts the next frame by throwing the pallino and playing their first ball.
Scoring Option - (One Two Three, Cutthroat or Hawaiian Bocce) Instead of scoring like above, any three balls score regardless of team. I.E., the closest ball receives three points, the next closest receives two and the third closest receives one. If one team scores all three balls they receive an extra point. You may want to increase the score needed to win, as this scoring method will speed game play.
Additional Rules of BocceBoard™
· If a ball leaves the court, regardless of who threw the ball that caused a bocce to leave play, the ball is dead for the remainder of the game. For you purist, this is a real change. Try it, you will find that it provides for many laughs.
· Once the pallino has been validly put into play, it remains in play. However, if the pallino is knocked out of the court or it is knocked in the front of the centerline, the frame will end, no points are awarded, and the game will resume from the opposite end of the court with the same team tossing the pallino.
· For official rules go to the world’s best bocce website at www.joyofbocce.com. This site is owned by the author of the consummate bocce player handbook; “The Joy of Bocce”,
(Jan 7, 2009)