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Official Rules Of Cornhole / Cornhole Toss

These are the official rules and regulations of the American Cornhole Association (ACA). The rules and regulations have been developed and ratified by a majority of ACA members for ACA sanctioned tournament play. The rules are not a mandate, but rather a guideline to promote consistent and standard Cornhole / Corn Toss play around the country. It is the responsibility of each ACA member to strive to meet these rules and regulations in all ACA sanctioned tournaments.

Cornhole Court Layout



Cornhole Game Play

Singles Or Doubles Play - Cornhole / Corn Toss can be played as doubles or singles. In doubles play two contestants are partners against another team of two contestants; in singles play a contestant competes against another contestant. In doubles play, one member of each team pitches from one cornhole platform and the other members pitch from the other cornhole platform. In singles play, both contestants pitch from the same cornhole platform. All other rules are basically the same for doubles or singles play.

Innings - Every Cornhole / Corn Toss match is broken down into innings of play. During each inning of play each contestant must pitch all four corn bags.

Value Of The Corn Bag

1. Corn Bag In-The-Hole - A corn bag in-the-hole (or Hole-In) is a corn bag which is thrown through the hole in the cornhole platform or otherwise comes to rest inside the cornhole platform (knocked in by another player or an act of God). A corn bag in-the-hole has a value of three points.

2. Corn Bag In-The-Count - A corn bag that is not in-the-hole but lands with any portion of the corn bag resting on the cornhole platform is in-the-count. A corn bag in-the-count has a value of one point. For a corn bag to be in-the-count, it must not touch the ground or any other portion of the court prior to coming to rest on the cornhole platform. If a corn bag touches the ground before coming to rest on the cornhole platform, it is a foul and must be removed from the cornhole platform prior to the continuation of play

3. Corn Bag Out-Of-The-Count - A corn bag which comes to rest anywhere except in-the-count or in-the-hole is out-of-the-count and has no scoring value. A corn bag which is declared to be a foul is considered to be out-of-the-count (no matter where it comes to rest) and must be removed from the cornhole surface prior to the continuation of play.

Delivery Of Corn Bags

1. In doubles play, the first side of contestants alternate pitching corn bags until they have thrown all four corn bags, then the remaining contestant (pitching from the other cornhole platform) continue to alternate in the same manner until all four corn bags are delivered and the inning completed. Delivery in singles play is handled in the same manner (but from the same platform) with each of the two contestants alternating their pitching of corn bags until all four corn bags have been pitched completing the inning.

2. A contestant may deliver the corn bag from either the left or right pitchers box (see above) but, in any one inning, all corn bags must be delivered from the same pitcher’s box. A contestant shall pitch the entire tournament with the same hand or arm, except in the case of a medical emergency.

3. Each individual contestant shall deliver the corn bag within 20 seconds. The time shall start when the contestant steps onto the pitcher's box with the intention of pitching.

Foul Corn Bags

A foul corn bag is a corn bag which was delivered in non-compliance with one of the rules of the game. It scores as a corn bag out of the count and is to be removed from the Cornhole / Corn Toss court before any more corn bags are pitched. Corn bags already in the court that have been knocked into foul territory by a foul corn bag should be returned to the scoring area. Additionally, corn bags that are in the count, but are knocked into the hole by a foul corn bag must be returned to their original scoring position.

1. The following are rule violations that must be spotted and called by an contestant or assigned judge. The penalty is to declare the corn bag a foul corn bag, which requires the corn bags to be removed from the court prior to resuming play.

   1. Any corn bag pitched when the contestant has made contact with or crossed over the foul line before the corn bag is released.

   2. Except as provided above, any corn bag pitched when the contestant has started or stepped completely outside the pitching box before releasing the corn bag.

   3. Any corn bag not delivered within the twenty second time limit.

   4. A corn bag pitched from a different pitchers box than the first corn bag.

   5. Any corn bag that contacted the court or the ground before coming to rest on the cornhole platform.

   6. Any corn bag which struck a previously defined object such as a tree limb, wire, indoor court ceiling, etc.

   7. Any corn bag that leaves a contestant's hand once the final forward swing of the delivery process has started shall count as a pitched corn bag. A corn bag that is accidentally dropped by a contestant before the final forward swing has started shall not be considered foul and may be picked up and pitched.

2. A contestant's corn bags shall be called foul if the contestant removes any corn bag before the scoring of that corn bag has been agreed upon. A judge shall be called if a decision cannot be reached. The judge shall determine the scoring for the inning.

Cornhole Scoring

Section A. Cancellation Scoring - In cancellation scoring, corn bags in-the-hole and corn bags in-the-count pitched by opponents during an inning or half of an inning in doubles play cancel each other out. Only non cancelled corn bags are counted in the score for the inning.

1. Corn Bags In-The-Hole – Hole-ins (HI’s) cancel each other. A corn bag in-the-hole of one contestant shall cancel a corn bag in-the-hole of his competitor and those corn bags shall not score any points. Any non cancelled corn bag in-the-hole scores three points.

2. Corn Bags In-The-Count – Corn bags in-the-count cancel each other. A corn bag in-the-count of one contestant shall cancel a corn bags in-the-count of the opponent and those corn bags shall not score any points. Any non cancelled corn bags in-the-count score one point each.

Section B. Score Calculation - Cancellation scoring may be easily calculated as follows:

1. The points of both contestants are calculated for hole-ins and in-the-count corn bags.

2. The points of the lowest scoring contestant for hole-in corn bags are subtracted from the points of the highest scoring contestant for hole-in corn bags. The result is the hole-in score for the highest scoring contestant. The hole-in score for the lowest scoring contestant is zero.

3. The points of the lowest scoring contestant for in-the-count corn bags are subtracted from the points of the highest scoring contestant for in-the-count corn bags. The result is the in-the-count score for the highest scoring contestant. The in-the-count score for the lowest scoring contestant is zero.

4. The hole-in score for each contestant is added to the in-the-count score for each contestant to derive the recorded score for the inning.

5. In this manner hole-in and in-the–count corn bags from each contestant or team of contestants are cancelled out and only non cancelled corn bags are counted in the score.