Custom-Cornhole-Hamner.webp

How To Play Cornhole

Cornhole is one of those games that takes about two minutes to learn but a lot longer to master. Easy to set up, endlessly competitive, and always a crowd-pleaser. It's no surprise it's becoming a staple part of backyards, BBQs and beach days.

Whether you're picking up a board for the first time or need a quick rules refresh before your next backyard tournament, you're in the right place.

→ New to Cornhole? Read our beginner's guide with backyard tips and variations
→ Ready to play? Shop our Cornhole sets

1

Set up

Set up your board on a flat surface.

2

Distance

The distance you stand away from the board is really up to you. The official competition distance is 8.2 metres (27 ft) but a good social distance is 6 metres (20 ft). We recommend being a little closer when you first start out or have younger or older players. To work out your distance, just stride it out. A good stride is a metre but if you have short legs it’s perhaps only half a metre.
3

Playing

  • You can have 2 players or 2 teams but there are only 2 players each round.
  • Use a line or a marker (real or imaginary) that the players stand behind.
  • A foot over the line is a foot fault, that throw doesn’t get points and the bag is removed from play.
  • Throws are alternate – one player throws one bag and then the next player throws one bag.
  • Once each player has thrown all four of their bags – that’s a round and you record your store.
4

Scoring

  • You get three points for a bag in the hole.
  • You get one point for a bag on the board.
  • If a bag touches the ground that is zero points.
  • Example A: Player A has 2 bags in the hole and 2 on the board = 8 points for Player A. Player B has 1 bag in the hole and 3 bags on the board = 6 points for Player B. The lower score gets taken off the higher score and the player with the higher score gets those points.
  • Example B: Player A has 8 points and Player B has 6 points. 8 – 6 = 2. Player A gets 2 points for the round. Player A has 5 points and Player B has 9 points. 9 – 5 = 4.Player B gets 4 points for the round. The team who scores the highest points throws first in the next round. If no points are scored, the team who went first in the previous round throws first again.

The first team to 21 points wins the game!

Some Cornhole Tips and Terms

It’s a hanger!

That’s a bean bag that is hanging off the side of the board or halfway through the hole. A hanger is 1 point.

If you want a shorter game

If you’re in a hurry or want a shorter game, you can play to whatever score you want.

Air-mail!

That’s when you get the bag through the hole without it sliding on the board first.

A four bagger!

You get all four of your bags through the hole. This is rare and worth celebrating.