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Bocce Game Rules

Bocce is an Italian game that is easy to learn but can be difficult to master. You can play bocce on any flat and level surface, which makes it ideal for picnics and backyard cookouts. Clubs and leagues play competitively on a court, which is typically sand-covered, and approximately 27.5 meters long. The rules for competition and league play are quite extensive, but the basic rules of the game are straightforward.

Balls
- Bocce uses two balls. The first is the pallino, the smaller of the two. This ball is the target. The object of the game is to get your bocce (plural "bocci"), the other type of ball, as close to the pallino as possible. You score one point for every bocce you have closer to the pallino than your opponent's nearest bocce. For example, if you have two bocci closer to the pallino than your opponent's nearest bocce, you score two points. If your bocce is resting against the pallino, it is called a baci, or kiss, and scores two points. Traditionally, a game ends when one person or team scores nine points, but competition bocce will use 9, 11, 13 or 15 points.
Throws
- The first skill to learn in bocce is accuracy, because you only score points by getting close to the pallino. A punto is a throw for accuracy to score a point. You bowl the bocce toward the pallino in an attempt to get very close. If another player is too close to the pallino for your liking, you can toss a raffa. This throw is not aimed at the pallino. Instead, it is aimed at an opponent's bocce with the intent of knocking it out of the way. A volo is similar to a raffa in intent, but the style is vastly different. A raffa is bowled toward the target, but a volo is lofted. The rules for volo throws in tournament play are extensive and cover things like how the ball is thrown, how far it has to go before hitting the ground and how close to the target it can land. You can also aim one of these throws at the pallino to move it out of the way and closer to your own bocci.
Play
- Select teams of two to four players each. Each team takes four bocci of the same color. Use a coin toss or similar method to see which team starts the round. The win tosses the pallino into the field of play. For a competition court, the pallino must come to rest within a designated area. The team that tossed the pallino also tosses the first bocce. The opposing team then tosses a bocce to get closer to the pallino. That team continues to throw until it gets closer or uses all of its balls. The original team then takes over in the same manner until it gets closer or uses all its balls. When both teams have finished throwing, the score is tabulated. The next game starts with the disadvantaged team -- the one with the least total points -- tossing the pallino. Play continues until someone reaches a winning score.

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