The Secret On How To Play Cornhole [Quick And Easy]

Table of Contents

What is Cornhole?

Cornhole is a game in which small bags filled with dried corn (or some other material) are thrown at an inclined wooden platform with a hole. These are the cornhole instructions.

To play Cornhole, both teams will throw 4 bean bags each at the board at the opposite end of the gameplay area. Once those 8 bean bags total have been thrown, both teams add up their score for that round. Then both teams go over to the other opposite board, gather their bean bags, and proceed to throw another 8 bean bags total at the board on the opposite side. Keep alternating sides and adding up your score until a team gets to a total of 21 points. To score points you receive 1 point for each bag on the board and 3 points for each bag that went through the board’s hole. Cornhole baby!

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This is an amazing game that pits you against your opponent to see who can get to 21 points first. Do whatever it takes to knock your opponent’s bean bags off the board. Try to get as many bean bags into the board’s hole.

We’re going to describe how to Play Cornhole the simple way! There are other variations but we hope and believe that you will truly appreciate our version. No math with the exception of addition. lol

Game Equipment

To play cornhole you will need a Cornhole set. Cornhole sets come in as many varieties as you can imagine. Most of the time you can get an inexpensive Cornhole set on Amazon or even pick it up today at Walmart.

The Cornhole set includes:

2 Cornhole Boards
8 Colored Bean Bags (possibly full of corn)

Normally a Cornhole set includes 4 red and 4 blue bean bags but there are so many different types of Cornhole sets.

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Game Setup (Or How To Set Up Cornhole)

Adult Cornhole Distance And Junior Cornhole Distance

The foul line runs parallel to the front edge of each cornhole board. The backyard bag distance between the front edges of two cornhole boards is 27 feet according to the rules for adult games.

The foul line for junior cornhole will be 21 feet from the front edge of one board to the front edge of the other.

Front Of Board To Front Of Board Cornhole Distance

Adult Cornhole Distance = 27 Feet
Junior Cornhole Distance = 21 Feet

The Cornhole boards are set up approximately 27 feet apart but you can shorten or lengthen the distance depending on how intense you want to play. It’s your backyard but normally the boards are 27 feet apart.

How To Setup and Start Cornhole

If only two players are competing, then both players will be on the same side throwing toward the board at the opposite end of the gameplay area.

If there are two teams, then one player from each team will stand at each board. So one side will have a player from each team and the opposite side will also have a player from each team.

All 8 bean bags will start on the same side. Each player will grab 4 bean bags representing their team’s color. Normally red goes first but you can draw straws or flip a coin to see who goes first. Setup is complete and you can begin the game.

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How To Play Cornhole

The object of the game is to get 21 points to win the game.

Each player will alternate throwing one bean bag toward the other board across the gameplay area. One red bag is thrown followed by a blue bag and so on. Once all 8 bean bags have been thrown by both teams, you can add up your score for that set of throws.

If there are two players playing, then after their throws, they must both walk to the other side of the gameplay area to collect and throw their bean bags once again but now toward the other side.

If there are 2 teams (4 players total) then both opposing players will throw their 8 bean bags and the other side’s opposing players will throw their 8 bean bags and so on until one team’s score totals 21 points.

Scoring System

The first team to get 21 points wins the game.

We use a backyard simplified scoring system where each player’s bag that is on the board is worth 1 point and a bag that goes into the hole gets 3 points. Makes for quicker games. You can switch out others sitting on the sidelines wanting to play too.

You can’t total your scores until all 8 bags have been throw. Add up your scores for each round. Once one team reaches a total of 21 points or more wins the game.

Make sure you throw from behind the front of the board you’re throwing from.

Game Strategy

Learn to throw with a comfortable loose toss. Learn how to judge your throwing distance. While throwing try to throw in an arc that will allow it to reach the opposite board. If your bean bag keeps going and slides too much, you will need to adjust your arc higher.

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Is the game similar to horseshoes and is it easy to take with you?

The game is very similar to horseshoes in that you throw something at something at the opposite end of the gameplay area. A horseshoe is thrown to a stake in the ground. A bean bag is thrown at a hole in a board. This game is a lot safer because I’ve seen a horseshoe ricochet off and hurt other people standing nearby. Bean bags don’t really hurt but always play safe.

Need Rules For Other Games?
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Game Rules [Rules & Instructions]

You can set up your Cornhole boards almost anywhere. It’s super easy to set up and takedown. Everyone recognizes it immediately and wants to join in the fun. It’s a fun game to have in anyone’s backyard. Any age group can play too.

The game is very portable too but some people are discouraged from taking the game along because it does take up some space in your vehicle, even in the trunk.

Let’s get your Cornhole started! Let’s learn to set up, play and score Cornhole. Here we go.