Bocce ball is a relatively new sport within American culture, but it has a history that dates back to 5000 B.C. According to Collegium Cosmicum Ad Buxeas, the international organization for the sport of bocce, a graphic representation found in an Egyptian tomb showed people throwing a round stone and was dated back to 5200 B.C. Although the sport has transformed over the years, the goal of throwing a round object at a fixed target has driven the sport into its modern day structure.
Equipment and Courts
Bocce ball equipment includes a set of eight balls, four of one color and four of another color, as well as a smaller target ball called a "pallino." Regulation size and weight of the eight balls are 107 mm in diameter and 920 g and the target ball is about a third the size and a third the weight. A type of measurement is helpful but not required. An official bocce ball court is 86.92 feet long and 13.12 feet wide, although the game can be played on a smaller court or on any surface.
Players and Teams
Bocce ball can be played one-on-one, as singles, or with two teams of two, three or four players. In singles, each person throws four balls. In doubles, each person throws two balls. In a game of two teams of three, you need 12 balls and each player throws two balls. In a game of two teams of four players, each player throws one ball.
The Game
A coin toss between team captains begins the game. Whoever wins the coin toss chooses which side of the court to begin on and throws the pallino. The pallino toss is valid if it crosses over the center line and lands within the court dimensions. Once the pallino is thrown, the same team begins the game by shooting one of their balls at the pallino. Turns are not passed back and forth, instead whichever team or player who does not have a bocce closest to the pallino takes a turn. This can result in one player or team taking more than one turn in a row, until they place a bocce closest to the pallino, then the other team takes a turn. Once all of the balls have been thrown, the points are counted and the winning team begins the next frame by throwing the pallino toward the opposite end of the court.
Scoring
Bocce games are generally played to 12 points and tournament games are played to 15 points. Only one team scores points during each frame of the game. The bocce ball or balls that are closest to the pallino at the end of the frame score points. If a team has three of their bocce balls closer to the pallino than any of the other team's balls, they score three points. However, if they only have one ball closer to the pallino than the other team's closest ball, they score one point. If a bocce ball is touching the pallino, it counts as two points. There is not a set number of frames in a game of bocce. The frames continue until one team has scored 12 points.
Shooting
There are two ways to shoot the ball at the pallino in bocce ball. The first is called volo, which is when a player tosses the ball, underhand, into the air in an attempt to hit the pallino. The second is called raffa, which is when a player rolls the ball along the ground in an attempt to hit the pallino or knock other bocce balls away from the pallino. When a player is taking their turn, they can shoot whichever way they like but they must have their foot on or behind the back line of the court, or the line where the pallino was thrown from.
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