Cornhole Rules and Setup

Before your barbecue breaks into bean bag bedlam, take a minute to understand the proper setup and rules for a game of cornhole. There are, indeed, regulation distances, proper platforms and bags, and - yes - an American Cornhole Association. They've laid out equipment standards, court sizes, and an official set of rules, which we'll outline here.

Set It Up Set up your cornhole court with 27 feet between the front edges of the boxes. With standard cornhole goals, this will result in a standard distance of 33 feet between holes. Most players can easily clear this distance with a bean bag, but junior players may move up to 21 feet from the hole. Mark it if you've got little ones in the game. Bags and Boxes ACA-standard cornhole targets are 24 inches wide and 48 inches long. Raising 12 inches at an angle from front to back, the 6-inch diameter hole is located 9 inches from the back wall. This varies, of course, with home sets of different sizes and purposes, but all of our cornhole sets are proportional. Corn bags or bean bags are a standard full size of 6 x 6 inches, but this varies considerably between sets. Weight is generally between 14 and 16 ounces, and most are filled with corn feed or polyester beads.

Where Do We Stand?
While throwing, your foot cannot cross the invisible line made by the front edge of the cornhole target below. Crossing will negate your turn, cheater!

OK, Got It. How Do We Play?
Cornhole can be played with 2 or 4 people, but 4 is much more common. We'll explain the rules for 2-on-2 play here. To start, one member of each team stands on either side of a cornhole target. That's right - you stand next to your opponent and across from your competition. If you're trying to impress a girl, make sure she's on the other team - your teammate will be 30 feet away.

When it's your turn, you'll throw all four of your corn bags, alternating with the opponent at your side. When all 8 have been thrown, it's time to count the score and let the players on the other side have their turn. Technically, you can throw from the right or left without breaching the rules, but try to respect personal boundaries.

Keeping Score
There are two ways to score in the game of cornhole - a bag in the hole or a bag on the board. A bag in the hole nets you 3 points, while a bag resting on the platform surface is worth 1. Points scored by your adjacent opponent during each turn cancel yours. So, if you get 1 in the hole and two on the board, that'd be worth 5 points. But if, in the same turn, the player next to you gets 3 on the board, the total score for that round would be You = 2, Them = 0. The game continues in this manner until one team reaches 21 points.

It's in the Bag
Cornhole is easy, cornhole is fun. There are a huge variety of cornhole sets, team-licensed cornhole games, and recreation- or tournament-size cornhole games to choose from to get you and your family tossing. Shop our site for equipment and check out the full ACA Official Rules of Cornhole / Corn Toss here. Play on and have fun!