General Rules of Cornhole

Different Bean Bag / Cornhole organizations establish different sets of rules to play the game, especially those that run tournaments. These are the most common rules to play by:

Equipment:

(2) Game Boxes
(8) Bean Bags : 4 of one color and 4 of another color

Set-Up:

Place the boxes approximately 30 ft. apart (hole to hole) facing each other on a flat surface. Boxes should be directly across from each other with enough room overhead to throw the bags.

Gameplay:

Each player chooses to stand on one side of the box, players cannot stand on the same side to toss. Players alternate tossing each of their 4 bags to the game box on the opposite end. While tossing, players must stay behind the front of the game box to avoid a foot fault. Most tournament directors also require players to remain no more than 3 ft. from the side of the box while tossing.

Scoring:
A bag that lies on the board without touching the ground = 1 point
A bag that goes in the hole at any point in the inning = 3 points A bag that touches the ground at any time does not count for any points

Opposing player's points cancel out (ex: if player A has one bag on the board, and player B has one in the hole, player B gets 2 points)

Gameplay continues until one team reaches 21 points total. Some tournament directors require a team to win by a margin of 2 points or greater. Also, some tournaments establish a "skunk" rule: if one team reaches a certain number of points (usually 11) before the other team scores any points, the game is over.