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Bean Bag Game Specifications

Bean Bag Toss, also known as Cornhole, is a popular game for tailgaiting, a barbeque or a day at the beach. The game pits two teams of two players each against each other; players attempt to throw bean bags onto or into a goal to score points. As in horseshoes, one member of each team stands by each goal, and the players take turns with the players at one goal throwing all their shots, the second group tossing back at them, and so on.

Goal Dimensions
- Bean Bag goals are angled, so that the players are throwing at an inclined surface. This makes it slightly easier to make the bags stop on the surface of the goal in order to score points. The goals have a footprint of 2 feet wide by 4 feet long, and the back edge of the goals should be 12 inches tall. The lead edge can be between 2 1/2 inches and 4 inches off the ground. There is a circular hole cut in the top of each goal that is 6 inches in diameter. The lead edge of the circle should be 3 feet from the leading edge of the goal.
Field Dimensions
- The goals are set up so that their lead edges run parallel to each other with the distance between the goals measuring 27 feet. As each scoring hole is located 3 feet from the lead edge, this creates a total distance of 33 feet from hole to hole. Players stand with the player from one team on the left of the goal, and the player on the other team on the right of the goal. Each player has his own zone that extends 3 feet out from the goal, creating a 3-foot by 4-foot rectangle, from which they must throw their shots. If a player steps out of the rectangle while throwing, his bag does not count. For young children, a foul line is used, and is located 21 feet from the lead edge of the hole in the goal toward which they are throwing.
Scoring Specifications
- There are two different ways to score points in Bean Bags. A player can score three points for his team by throwing his bean bag directly into the hole of the opposite goal. A player can also score a single point for his team by tossing a bag that lands on the goal but does not fall through the hole. For any bag to count, it most not land on the ground anywhere but the goal, meaning a bag that bounces onto the goal is illegal and removed. Additionally, points are not awarded until all bags in a turn are thrown, and matching bags by opposing players cancel out. For example, if Player A gets two in the hole and one on the goal, and Player B gets one in the hole and two on the goal, Player A scores three, and Player B scores one, as each player has one of his bags in each zone cancelled out. Players can play a set number of turns, or to a set score, commonly 15 or 21.

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