Basic Rules
- Rule number one – Be nice!
- Minimum 2 players to play
- Rock, paper, scissors to determine serving team
- The serving team throws the pallino (small ball)
- The pallino MUST pass the centerline of the court
- If the player fails 2 times, the opposing team throws the pallino
- The team that throws the pallino also throws the first bocce ball
- The opposing team then throws their first ball and continues to throw until they have a ball closer to the pallino than the starting team
- Teams alternate throws, with the team furthest from the pallino always playing until they are closer to the pallino or run out of balls
Scoring
- Each game is to 15 (unlimited rounds)
- You don’t have to win by 2
- If the ball touches the pallino, you don’t get an extra point
- You can get 1, 2, 3, or 4 point(s) in a round; only 1 team can score points each round
- Points are based on who is closest to the pallino
- If you are closest, you get 1 point
- If you have the next 1, 2 or 3 balls that are closer than the opponent’s first closest ball, you receive the points
- If you throw a regular ball (not pallino) short of halfway, it stays on the court and can score a point
- The team that won the last round throws the ball first in the next round
- Ex. If the score is 10-1, then the team scores 2 points to make the score 10-3. The team with 3 points will throw the ball first (they won the last round).
*COURT PLAY ONLY
- If a ball is thrown and doesn’t hit another ball (or the pallino) and hits the back or side wall, that ball is out of play immediately.
- The pallino must be at least 6 inches from the back wall to start the round. If the pallino touches the back wall during the round, play continues normally.
League policies:
- Teams without the minimum number of players 10 minutes after the scheduled start time forfeit their game.
- Forfeit Rule: All teams make the playoffs at the end of the season (Hooray!), unless you forfeit twice within the regular season.