When packing for your next picnic, don't forget the essentials. Include sandwiches, plenty of healthy snacks, water in a reusable water bottle and a bocce ball set. Bocce is one of the more leisurely competition games that makes it an appropriate addition to a day at the park. Bocce ball can be played on an official bocce ball court or on an open area free of hazards. It is played one-on-one or with teams of two or four players.
Foul Line Regulations
Official courts are about 86.9 feet long and 13 feet wide. The foul line is typically 13 feet from the wall behind the throwing players. All players must stand behind the foul line when throwing the pallino and bocce balls. Players are allowed to move around behind the line and are permitted to step on the line, but not over it when throwing. It is OK to step over it once the ball is released. The ball must then pass over the midline to be in play. When not using an official court, it helps to designate a foul line and midline for each frame.
Tossing the Pallino Ball
The pallino ball is the small ball. It should be distinctive in color and of a color other than the colors of the bocce balls. To begin each frame, one team member throws the pallino ball on the court. Flip a coin to determine the first team to have the advantage the first frame. Each frame thereafter, the throw is made by a player from the team who scored the previous frame. The player can be any team member and does not have to be rotated in any specific order. When throwing the pallino, the player must stand behind the designated foul line and thrown past the court midline. If the ball fails to cross the midline, the other team then gets the opportunity to throw the pallino ball. The original team still throws the bocce balls first.
Tossing the Bocce Balls
Once the pallino ball is thrown, each team alternates throwing their bocce balls. The team that threw the pallino ball starts the throwing rotation. The goal is to throw the bocce ball as close to the pallino ball as possible. After the first throw, the opposing team takes turns throwing their balls until one of their balls is closer to the pallino ball then the first team's. Once that is achieved, play continues with the first team throwing until their ball is closer. This continues until all eight balls are thrown. When players cannot determine which team's ball is closer, they can measure the distance. For an official measurement, iBocce.com's "Rules of Bocce" states to measure from the inside dimensions of the bocce ball to the inside of the pallino ball. Only one player from each team is allowed past the center line during a measurement. In the event of a tie, the player who last threw last throws again until the tie is broken. The bocce balls can be thrown to get close to the pallino ball or they may be thrown to knock opponent balls out of contention. A bocce ball must hit the ground before hitting an opponent's ball.
Scoring and Winning
Only one team scores during each frame. A frame is completed when all four bocce balls are thrown by each team. Points are awarded only to the team who has the ball closest to the pallino ball. The scoring team receives a point for each ball that is closer to the pallino than any of the opponent's balls. In the event of a tie, no points are awarded to either team. The "Open Bocce Regulations Of the United States Bocce Federation" list play until a team scores 12 points or 15 points in final tournament games.
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