General Information & Rules of The Game

Updated 4/11/2025

• There is a (big) storage shed at the Mita Club next to the fence at the tennis courts, where the boards, bags and score sheets will be available.
• Members are welcome to use the boards at any time for practice or pleasure.
• The password to the lock is ”0005.” Place the combo (0005) along the indicated line to open the lock.
• The boards won’t be numbered but lined up as courts 1 through 8, from left to right.
• When setting up the boards, the distance from each end of the boards will be 24 feet.
• There are plastic winders that contain 24 feet of rope to be stretched between the front of the boards. They will be stored in one of the storage boxes within the storage shed.
• The boards should be 8 to 10 feet apart from one another.
• There will be 3 Games per weekly Match.
• Ties must be broken. Play to win the tie-breaking point at the end of a frame.
• Toss a coin to determine the starting team and may choose their bag color. Opposing team chooses side. 
• The team that scored the most points in the first and or second game starts the next game of a three-game match.  
• Teams will switch ends to start the second and third game.
• Both players can play on the same side (pitcher's box) of the board but must pitch from that box for the entire game. 
• A substitute player must play from the same board as the player being subbed but may choose his pitching box.
• A substitute player must move to the opposite board if they are playing the next game.
• Bags must not touch the ground in any way, to be scored as points.
• Games shall be played to 21 points of 30 minutes per game.
• Points shall be determined using "Elimination Scoring," at the end of a frame.
• • Example: Team 1 has 3 points on the board - Team 2 has 2 points on the board. Results: Team 1 scores 1 point. 
• Scores will be recorded on the score sheet by indicating total game points for each team, for each game.

Rules of the Game

 These are the rules of the Trilogy Cornhole Club substantially adopted from the official rules and regulations of the American Cornhole Association (ACA).

COURT LAYOUT
The court should consist of two cornhole boards, designated pitcher’s boxes, and foul lines.

PITCHER'S BOX
The pitcher’s box is the rectangle 4 feet by 3 feet at each end of the court, parallel with, and on both sides of the boards. At least one foot must be inside the pitcher’s box at the time of release.

FOUL LINES
Foul lines shall be defined as an imaginary line at the front of the board, extending across into the pitcher's box. The foul line should be parallel to the front of the opposite board.

PITCHING ROATTION

Toss a coin or use other means (like top or bottom side of the bag) to determine the starting rotation and end of court from which to play. The opposing team chooses bag color. 

CHOOSING THE PITCHING SIDE OF THE BOARD

Flip a coin or other means. Winner chooses side. However, both players may choose to pitch in the same pitching box. Non-throwing players must give the throwing player room to throw.

PLAY OF THE GAME
We have included SINGLES PLAY, to accommodate any of our members who would like to play matches, outside of the designated league play of the Cornhole Club.

SINGLES OR DOUBLES PLAY
Every match is broken down into innings of play. During an inning of play, each player must pitch all four of his/her bags. An inning is never completed until all players pitch all four of his/her bags.

Doubles Play - Team A competes against Team B; each team is comprised of two people.

1. Each team will stay in their designated pitching lane for the whole game.
2. Players at the headboard will alternate pitching bags until each player has pitched all four of his/her bags.
3. Players at the footboard will take the score and resume pitching back to the other board.
4. Teams may substitute players after the participating player has completed all four bag tosses.
5. The top of an inning is completed when both players pitching from the headboard pitch all four bags; the bottom of the inning is completed when the remaining players pitching from the footboard pitch all four bags.

Singles Play - Player A competes against Player B.

1. Both players stay in their designated lane for the whole game.
2. Players start the game at the headboard and will alternate pitching bags until each player has pitched all four of his/her bags.
3. Players then walk to the end of their lane to the other court, take score, and resume pitching back to the other board.
4. The top of an inning is completed when the first player pitches all four bags; the bottom of the inning is completed when the remaining player pitches all four bags.

VALUE OF THE BAG
The approved method of scoring for the sport of cornhole is “cancellation” scoring. In cancellation scoring, the points of one player cancel out the points of their opponent. Using this method, only one player/team can score in each inning.

• Bag In-The-Count (Woody): Any bag which comes to rest anywhere on top of the board. Each is worth one (1) point.
• Bag In-The-Hole (Cornhole): Any bag which is thrown through the hole or knocked through the hole by another bag. Each is worth three (3) points.
• Foul Bags – Refers to any bag that has not been determined as Bag In-The-Count or Bag In-The Hole or was designated a foul bag as the result of rules violation.

PITCHING ROTATION DURING THE GAME​

• The player who scored in the preceding inning has honor pitching first in the next inning. 
• If neither pitcher scores in the proceeding inning(s,) the scoring player continues to hold the honors, pitching first in the next inning.

POSITION OF PLAYERS DURING PITCHING

• The pitcher must be within the pitcher’s box and behind the foul line at the time of release.
• A player must pitch all four bags from their designated pitcher’s box.
• Players must pitch the bag with an underhand release.
• Both players may choose to play in the same pitcher’s box. Non-throwing players must give the throwing player room to throw.

RAKING CORNHOLE BAGS

If the bags get piled inside the cornhole board, they could interfere with the game play by not allowing a bag to fall through the hole. To prevent this, a player may request a rake, where the bags that have fallen inside the cornhole board are removed.

• ·       To request a rake, the player must audibly ask.
• ·       One or both players may walk to the other board and rake the bags from under the board
• ·       A third party may be asked to rake the bags if the players agree
• ·       An official (if present) may be called to rake the bags if a discrepancy is in question.

Anytime four cornhole bags have entered the hole or you can visibly see the bags piled through the hole, a player can request a rake without being charged a time out.

It’s very important to do your best to not affect any cornhole bags on the playing surface when raking. If there are bags on the rim of the hole but they are not touching any of the bags piled on the inside, they should not be moved.

But if a bag is on the rim and touching the piled bags, it’s okay if the bag falls in when the bags are raked. In that case, the bag is considered a cornhole worth 3 points.

FOUL BAGS

The following are rule violations that must be spotted and called by a player or assigned judge. The penalty is to declare the bag a foul bag, which requires the bag to be removed from the court prior to resuming play. A foul bag is defined as:

• Any bag pitched when the player has made contact with or crossed over the foul line during the release of the bag.
• Any bag pitched when the player is outside the pitcher's box. (At least one foot must be inside the pitcher’s box at the time of release.)
• Any bag not delivered within the 20-second time limit
• A bag pitched from a different pitcher’s box than the first bag
• Any bag that contacted the ground before coming to rest on the board
• Any bag that comes to rest touching the ground and the bag must be removed immediately.
• Any bag that struck a previously defined object such as a tree limb, wire, indoor court ceiling, etc.

• If a player pitches a foul bag which affects any bags in play, their opponent has the option of returning all cornhole bags to their original position on the playing surface or leaving all bags as they are.

• Any bag removed from the board before scoring has been agreed upon for that bag 
• The offending team (who touches the bags) forfeits all remaining bags and tallies the score of just the bags thrown before the foul was reported
• A bag that leaves a player’s hand once the final forward swing of the delivery process has started shall count as a pitched bag.
• A bag that is accidentally dropped by a player before the final forward swing has started shall not be considered foul and may be picked up and pitched.

Protests – If a player desires to make a protest, the protest shall be made to a judge or official (if available) at the time the problem occurs. The judge shall make the final ruling on all protests.

LENGTH OF THE GAME - TRADITIONAL: First Team To 21 or 30 Minutes
The game shall be played to twenty-one points or 30 minutes per game. The first player/team to reach (or exceed) that amount at the conclusion of an inning is the winner.

In the event a score of twenty-one points is not reached at the end of 30 minutes, the score for both teams will be recorded at that time.  

In the event of a tie, teams will continue to play until the tie is broken at the end of a frame.

MATCH SUSPENSION DUE TO RAIN
If there is light rain, the game should continue. If there is a weather alert, heavy rain or lightning, the captains should agree to cancel the remainder of the match, noting the scores and time remaining in the match.
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The match must be rescheduled within seven days or both teams will forfeit the match, barring extraordinary circumstances. Play shall resume at the point at which the game was cancelled including the remaining time. To reschedule, contact the other captain regarding a time. Be sure to record your scores on a score sheet. Be sure to record the date as the original date of scheduled play.

RESCHEDULING A MATCH
In the event or a situation where a team cannot play a scheduled match, team captains will need to reschedule and complete the entire match within the 7 days prior to the next scheduled match or the team that requested the reschedule will forfeit the match. To reschedule, contact the other captain regarding a time. Be sure to record your scores on a score sheet. Be sure to record the date as the original date of scheduled play. 

FORFEITS

• If a minimum of 2 team members are not available at the scheduled start time, the Game shall be forfeited.
• If after 15 minutes at least 2 team members are not available, the second Game, therefore the Match, shall be forfeited.
• Scoring for a forfeit:
• • Games won by forfeit are scored as 21 points
  • Games lost by forfeit are scored as 0 points
  • Maximum of three games (63 points) will be awarded per match forfeited
• Two Match forfeits in any season may mean the loss of priority registration for the following playing season.