Cornhole is played between two individuals or between two teams of two persons each. There are many different variations of the game and each one has its own unique skills and strategies. This site gives a good explanation of the rules of the game and the equipment needed to play.

The Playing Field

The Cornhole / Corn Toss playing field should be a level rectangular area 10 ft wide and a minimum of 45 ft long. To setup the playing area, two 24" x 48" cornhole boards are placed, lowest edge facing each other, 27 feet apart (18ft for juniors) measured from the front edge of each platform. There are two 4' by 3' areas to either side of the cornhole platforms, known as pitchers' boxes, where the cornhole players stand and toss their corn bags at the opposite cornhole, a 6" diameter hole in the cornhole board. Each contestant must remain in the pitchers box while pitching the corn bag. You will also need 8 corn bags.

Equipment

Each Cornhole board shall be a 48" x 24" rectangle made of half inch plywood. The hole in the Cornhole board shall be six inches in diameter and be centered nine inches from the top and 12 inches from each side of the board edges. The front of the Cornhole board shall be from 2-1/2" inches from bottom to top and be at near a 90-degree angle to the deck face. The back of the board shall be 12 inches from ground to the highest point of the deck at a 90-degree angle to the deck face. The cornhole boards should have solid wood sides with the only opening to the underside of the board being through the hole. Although portable fold-down platforms are acceptable (with open sides), platforms with solid wooden sides are preferred, sometimes it’s difficult (especially late in the day) to determine if a corn bag was pitched into the hole or came to rest under the cornhole board by being pitched through the open sides on the board. The Cornhole / Corn Toss play surface shall be finish sanded to a very smooth texture and there shall not be any blemishes in the wood surface that might disrupt or distort play.

The corn bags shall be made from two fabric squares with a quarter inch double stitched seam on all four sides. The corn bags should be made from 12 oz / sq yd duck canvas and may be any color that is easy to see during Cornhole play. Each bag shall be filled with approximately 2 cups of corn feed and finished bags should be a minimum of 6" X 6" square and weigh between 14 and 16 ounces.

How To Play

Cornhole / Corn Toss can be played as doubles or singles. Each individual player or team is allowed four corn bag tosses per inning, with innings completed when both players/teams have tossed all four of their bags. In doubles play two contestants are partners against another team of two contestants; in singles play a contestant competes against another contestant.

In doubles play, one member of each team pitches from one cornhole board and the other members pitch from the other cornhole board.

In singles play, both contestants pitch from the same cornhole board. All other rules are basically the same for doubles or singles play.

Play alternates as follows: one cornhole individual/team makes all their throws, and then the opposing individual/team is allowed to make their throws. Every Cornhole / Corn Toss match is broken down into innings of play. During each inning of play each contestant must pitch all four corn bags.

In doubles play, the first side of contestants alternate pitching corn bags until they have thrown all four corn bags, then the remaining contestant (pitching from the other cornhole platform) continue to alternate in the same manner until all four corn bags are delivered and the inning completed.

Delivery in singles play is handled in the same manner (but from the same platform) with each of the two contestants alternating their pitching of corn bags until all four corn bags have been pitched completing the inning.

A contestant may deliver the corn bag from either the left or right pitchers box but, in any one inning, all corn bags must be delivered from the same pitcher’s box. No contestant can go past the foul line (the front of the board) during each toss. The contestant who scored in the preceding inning shall pitch first in the next inning. If neither pitcher scores, the contestant who pitched second (last) in the preceding inning shall pitch first in the next inning.

Scoring

Corn Bag In-The-Hole – A corn bag in-the-hole (or Hole-In) is a corn bag which is thrown through the hole in the cornhole board or otherwise comes to rest inside the board (knocked in by another player). A corn bag in-the-hole has a value of three points.

Corn Bag In-The-Count – A bag that is not in-the-hole but lands with any portion of the bag resting on the cornhole board is in-the-count. A corn bag in-the-count has a value of one point. For a corn bag to be in-the-count, it must not touch the ground or any other portion of the court prior to coming to rest on the cornhole board. If a bag touches the ground before coming to rest on the cornhole board, it is a foul and must be removed from the cornhole board prior to the continuation of play. Some people play where any bag that is on the cornhole board leaning (leaner) over the hole but not in it scores a value of two points. This makes the game more challenging and fun.

Corn Bag Out-Of-The-Count – A corn bag which comes to rest anywhere except in-the-count or in-the-hole is out-of-the-count and has no scoring value. A bag which is declared to be a foul is considered to be out-of-the-count (no matter where it comes to rest) and must be removed from the cornhole surface prior to the continuation of play.

Cancellation Scoring (Preferred Scoring Method)

In cancellation scoring, corn bags in-the-hole and corn bags in-the-count pitched by opponents during an inning or half of an inning in doubles play cancel each other out. Example: Team A scores 6 points and Team B scores 3 points. The final score for that inning is Team A with 3 points (6-3).

LENGTH OF THE GAME

The Cornhole / Corn Toss match shall be played until the first team of contestants reaches (or exceeds) 21 points at the completion of an inning. The winning team does not need to win by two or more points.

The Cornhole / Corn Toss match can never end in the middle of an inning. Thus, if a team that pitches first reaches or exceeds 21 points, the game can not end until the other side is allowed to pitch all of their corn bags and the inning is completed.

If the Cornhole / Corn Toss match is tied at 21 or more at the end of an inning, play continues until one team or the other achieves a higher score at the end of an inning and wins the match.