Bocce Ball Court Layout and Game Rules - Midway Party Rental

Bocce Ball Court Layout and Game Rules

BOCCE BALL TERMINOLOGY
The game of Bocce is played with eight large Bocce balls and a small target ball called the
Pallino or “Jack”. The object of the game is to toss or roll the Bocce ball closest to the Pallino
(target ball).

A FRAME is complete when all 8 Bocce balls have been played. A new frame begins after the
distance between Pallino and the Bocce balls have been measured and points awarded. The
team winning a frame always tosses the Pallino or another Bocce ball, it is called HITTING. As
players become experienced it will be apparent that strategy as well as skill will provide hours
of exciting action.

THE COURT: Bocce can be played on grass, dirt, sand, or gravel. For casual play, the game
boundaries can be determined by the players prior to starting the game. The official Bocce
court is 12’ wide by 60’ long. Prior to playing backyard Bocce, teams may agree to alter the
rules to accommodate the playing field.

TOSSING THE BALL: All players must stand behind the player tossing the Bocce balls. Balls must
be tossed underhand. The player who tosses the Pallino also tosses the first Bocce ball of the
frame. Each team can toss, roll, or bounce balls down the court provided they do not go out of
bounds. A player may knock the opponent’s ball out of the court when trying to gain a point or
reduce the other team’s points, or put a ball out of play.

STARTING THE MATCH – “OPEN” BOCCE REGULATIONS
WHO GOES FIRST: Begin the match with the flip of a coin between the “capos” of each team.
The winner gets the first toss of the Pallino and choice of ball color for their team.

TOSSING THE PALLINO: The starting team is given 3 tries to toss the Pallino within the proper
boundaries (past the court midpoint but does not hit the back wall/boundary). If they fail, the
opposing team will toss the Pallino and put it into play. If they fail, it reverts back to the starting
team until it’s finally in proper “playing” position.

The first ball is always thrown by the player from the starting team who originally tossed the
Pallino. If that player’s Bocce ball hits the back board, that team must roll again. Otherwise

he/she steps aside and that team does not roll again until the opposing team has either gotten
one of its Bocce balls closer to the Pallino or has thrown all of its balls. Whenever a team gets a
ball closer, it steps aside and lets the other team roll. The other team throws until it beats (not
ties) the opposing ball. This continues until both teams have used all their Bocce balls. The team
who scored last throws the Pallino to begin the next frame. Consecutive or alternating throws
by teammates shall be at the option of the players.

Players may use the side walls at any time. If a player rolls the wrong color ball, simply replace it
with the correct color when it comes to rest. If a players rolls out of turn, the other team has
the option to return the thrown ball and replace any moved balls to their original position or
leave all balls as is.

WHERE DO YOU ROLL FROM? Player’s movements are limited to the foul line. The player should
not step on or over the foul line before releasing the Pallino or Bocce ball.

HOW DO YOU SCORE? Only one team scores in a frame. One point is given for each ball that is
closer to the Pallino than the closest ball of the opposing team. If at the end of any frame the
closest ball of each team is the same distance from the Pallino, the frame ends in a tie. No
points are awarded to either team and the game resumes from the opposite end of the court
with the same team tossing the Pallino. Games are usually played up to 12 or 18 points.

WHAT IF A BALL HITS THE BACK WALL? Should a Bocce ball make contact with the back board,
the Bocce ball is considered a dead ball on impact and is removed immediately from play until
the end of the frame. If a ball after hitting the back board strikes a stationary ball, that
stationary ball shall be replaced in its approximate original position. The thrown ball is removed
from play. If a ball hitting the backboard is not removed quickly enough and as a result strikes a
moving ball that likely would have hit the back board, allowing the moving ball to remain in
play, that moving ball remains in play where it comes to rest. The thrown ball is removed from
play. In order to bring the “Open Rules” a little closer to the International regulations, there is
currently under consideration an alternative rule that states that a ball that hits the back wall is
dead unless it first hits another object (ball or Pallino), in which case everything is valid.

CAN THE PALLINO HIT THE BACK WALL? Once the Pallino has been tossed past the center line
and is in play, it remains in play even if it hits the back board. However, if the Pallino is knocked
out of the court or it is knocked in front of the center line, the frame will end and play will
resume from the opposite end of the court with the same team tossing the Pallino.

WHAT IS SHOOTING? Shooting is tossing the ball in the air beyond the center of the court.
Shooting is not allowed.

HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE ON A TEAM? A team may make one substitution per game between
frames. There are four balls to a side, or team. Balls are made in various colors or patterns to
distinguish them from the four balls of the opposing team or other player’s. The game may be
played three ways:

 One player vs. a second – 4 balls each

 Two players vs. two players – 2 balls each
 Four players vs. four players – 1 ball each

HOW DO YOU CONSTRUCT A COURT? See the layout at the right. Look for a
nice level surface approximately 91’ x 13’ (regulation). A packed hard surface
makes for a much faster game than a grass surface. Whether you have full
wood side walls or just a couple trees and an agreed upon sight line to
indicate your boundaries, the object is still to have fun!

STANDARD BOCCE COURT
A = 4’ Line
B = Midline
C = 10’ Line

1. Players may not cross the 4’ line (A) before the Pallino leaves their
hand or a Bocce ball leaves their hand when “pointing”

2. At the start of a “frame”, the Pallino must reach or go beyond the
midline (B) and not be closer than 1’ from the side boundary or 4’
from the end boundary (A).

3. When “hitting”, a player may not cross the 10’ line (C) before a Bocce
ball leaves their hand.