Bocce, an Italian lawn game, resembles similar games played in other countries, such as petanque in France and lawn bowls in England. In bocce, teams or players compete to throw their bocce balls closest to a smaller object ball, known as the pallino. The United States has been home to the sport of bocce since Italian immigrants brought it from Italy in the early 20th century, according to the United States Bocce Federation. If you cannot find an official bocce court, you can play on any large, relatively flat surface of dirt, gravel, grass or sand.
Teams
Bocce requires two teams of one, two or four players each. You must divide the team's four bocce balls evenly among players. Thus, if you play alone with no teammates, you throw all four bocce balls. Players on two-person teams throw two bocce balls each, and players on four-person teams throw one bocce ball each.
Start
Toss a coin to determine which team will go first in the first frame, or Giro. The team that wins the toss can decide to go first or to make the other team go first. The starting team selects its desired color of balls. One player on the starting team must toss the pallino, the object ball, and then toss her first bocce ball. Throughout the game, players toss balls until they have none left or until they toss a ball closer to the pallino than any other balls. The first player's ball will always land closer to the pallino than any others, so she will always toss only one ball.
Throws
Bocce players can make three types of throws. With a punto, or a point throw, you attempt to get your ball closest to the pallino. With a raffa, you try to hit an opponent's bocce ball to move it out of scoring position. With a volo, you try to hit the pallino to a new position. In official competition, you must call your shot in advance. If you call a punto and throw a volo, your shot is illegal and the balls must be replaced to their original positions. You must always throw within 30 seconds and from behind the designated pitch line. Players continue throwing their bocce balls until they have none left, or until they throw a ball closer to the pallino than any of the opponent's balls. When one team throws a ball that sits closest to the pallino, it becomes the other team's turn to throw. That team then throws until it throws a ball closer to the pallino or runs out of balls.
Scoring and Winning
Score the bocce balls once all players have thrown all of their balls. Only one team can score points in each round. The team with a ball closest to the pallino earns one point for each ball closer to the pallino than the opposing team's closest ball. The highest score a team can earn in one round is four. Continue playing rounds until one team reaches a previously agreed upon point total, such as nine, 13, 15 or 16 points.
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