Bean Bag Yard Games

Bean Bag Toss/Cornhole

• This classic yard game bears resemblance to horseshoes, with players scoring points by tossing bean bags onto a board or box. When playing doubles, teams toss from opposite boards; for singles play, players toss from the same board. Distance from the board should vary by age, with players age 13-plus standing roughly 18 feet from the board.

  Players alternate tossing until they have tossed all bags; this completes a frame, after which players score the round. The last player or team to score tosses first in the next frame. If no team scores during a frame, the player who tossed first in the prior frame tosses first in the next frame.

  Players score one point for bean bags landing on the board (a "boarder" or "woody'), and three points for bean bags landing in the board's hole (a "cornhole"). Bags that end up off the board ("stankers" or "foul bags") score nothing. Players remove "dirty" bags̵2;bags that touch the ground before hitting the board or land hanging off the board while also touching the ground̵2;before the next bag toss. At the end of a frame, players score the difference in team points; for instance, if the first team scored three points and the second team scored two points, the first team scores one point for the round.

  The player or team reaching 21 points first, with at least a two-point margin, wins the game; if the team that tossed first reaches 21, the second team still tosses to complete the frame. Players or teams that earn no points during a game get "skunked." As a variation, players may use frame scoring, in which they score as many points as possible over 13 frames, with a maximum amount of 156 points (52 cornhole shots).

Chin Relay

• Without using their hands, players race each other as they hold a bean bag under their chin. Players divide into two teams and line up at start line. With the bean bag under their chins, players run to a turn-around line and back to the start line. Upon returning to the start line, players drop the bean bag and tag the next players in line, who repeat the action. If a player drops a bean bag, he must pick it up again, hands free. The first team to finish the relay wins the game.

Tic-Tac-Toe

• Players use bean bags and tape rather than pencil and paper for this take on the classic game. The leader should use masking tape to make a large tic-tac-toe board on a relatively flat surface and label two different-colored bean bags with "Xs" and "Os." After choosing who's "Xs" and "Os," two players or teams take turns tossing a bean bag into a square. Distance from the tic-tac-toe board should vary by age, with younger players standing closer to the board. If players land a bean bag in the same square as another player or on a line, the toss does not count. The first player to get three of her bean bags across, down or diagonally wins the game.