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History of Cornhole

A true American classic and a tailgate staple. Cornhole- also called bags, bag toss, corn toss, bean toss, bean bag and more. Cornhoole can be played with 2 or 4 people or set up a tournament and play with even more people.  It is hard to pinpoint the exact origin of the game and can cause a heated debate as far as what part of the country invented the game. In the end, it shouldn’t matter who created it just enjoy the game! Cornhole has provided countless hours and friendly competition between tailgaters beachgoers and backyard parties and will continue to do so for years to come.

Basics:

• Team members stand at opposite boards
• Team members face each other
• 8 bags start all on one side
• The losers of a coin flip toss second
• Players alternate twos until no bags remain
• The core is then counted
• The team that wins the round will throw first in the following round
• If there is a tie the team that throws first remains the same as the previous round

Cornhole Equipment

Before you get started you are going to need the gear to even play the game. This includes 8 160z corn-filled bags and two boards.

Cornhole boards are raised platforms with a 6-inch hole in the top half. the dimensions of the tops of the board should be 2 feet wide and 4 feet long. The board’s angle should be the back is 7inches higher than the front of the board. The 6-inch hole is placed in the center of the board 9 inches from the top of the board. The bags should be two different colours as each team will have its own coloured bags.

How far apart should cornhole boards be?

Cornhol boards should be 27 feet from the front of each board. Or 33 feet from hole to hole. 

Where do you stand when throwing? Imagine there is a 3-foot wide pitcher’s box that runs the length of the board. And you must stay within this space when throwing. 

How far can you step forward when throwing?– The front of the box will serve as the foul line. Your body can’t come past that line when throwing the bag. 

Can you start behind the boards to throw?– No, the designated pitcher box is beside the board no further than the top and the bottom corners of the board. 

Do you have to throw underhand? – According to the info people at the American cornhole organization all players must deliver the bags with an underhand release.

Cornhole scoring

Points are determined based on where the cornhole bags land in relation to the boards. 3 points are awarded when a bag goes through the hole and one point is earned if the bag lands on the board. No points are awarded if the bag touches the ground prior to ending up on the board. a bag being held on the board by a bag touching the ground is also not available to score points with.

Points are totalled after each round and points are cancelled. The team with the highest score in a round adds the difference between their score and the opposite team’s score to the running total. If both teams achieve the same score in a given round no points are awarded to either team. The score stays the same and the first throw goes to the team who had the first throw in the previews round.

example: If team A gets 8 points and team B gets 4 points team a will be awarded 4 points and team B will get zero.

Simply put:

3 points if the bag goes through the hole

1 point for a bag that hits and remains on the board

Cornhole bust rule

What happens if you go over 21 in cornhole? 

Often times you will hear you must get exactly 21 points in order to win and if you go over this score your score is reduced back to 11 points. Some other common rule is that you must win by 2. According to the American cornhole organization, this is not true. And the first team to reach 21  wins period. 

Of course, adding stipulations can make the game more fun as long as you are not in an official competition. 

Cornhole playing tips:

Got a big weekend of cornhole coming up and you are trying to beat your friends?

These are a few tips to keep in the back of your mind to help win that next game.

Don’t worry about getting every bag in the hole. The hole is located at the top of the board and a miss can easily cause the bag to go over the board entirely resulting in zero points. Instead, aim for the board itself, often times this will result in the bag sliding into the hole or stopping just short creating a great defensive position to block the other team’s bags. Defence wins championships…

Spin for the win. Often times beginners throw underhand and the bag lands end over end riesling in some awkward landings and the bag rolls right off the board. Instead, watch some of the world’s top cornhole players and you will see them using a flat or pancake style. Essentially the bag spins horizontally to the ground this technique is harder to master but once you have it figured out you will find your bags are landing much more predictably.