Our Bocce Ball Tournament Rules

Starting the Game:

• 2-teams with 4+ players each
• Rock-Paper-Scissor to decide who goes first
• When making your roll/throw, be sure not to step over the line
• First team will start by throwing out the pallino (white ball, aka "jack")
• Then a player from the first team will roll their first bocce
• Next, a player from the second team will roll their first bocce
• Alternate between the two teams until all the bocce balls have been thrown
• You can hit the pallino or other bocce balls, just be sure to keep it on the grass
• After everyone has thrown their balls, don't move anything, so teams can tally up their scores

Scoring:

• Only the team with the closest bocce to the pallino scores any points in a round
• The team that is closest gets a number of points equal to how many bocce are closer to the pallino than the other team's nearest bocce
• First team to 9 points wins

• Click on the photo below for some scoring examples!

  

Violations

If a player steps over a designated line when making a throw, that is a foot fault. The penalty can be either a warning or an invalidation of that throw. Bocce is a friendly game and a warning will keep most people within the rules. If a player makes a throw out of order, the teams can agree to let it go or to replace the balls approximately where they previously were. Last, no one from the opposite team should try to distract a thrower.