Imagine a game almost anyone can play that combines the best of skee-ball, bowling, and shuffleboard. Welcome to the ancient sport of bocce.
Bocce is the kissing cousin of other games like petanque and lawn bowling, and it’s pretty simple. Grab as few as two and as many as eight people, and divide into two even teams, Team A and Team B.
Get a set of bocce balls, and find an open outdoor space. If you’d like to play at a bocce venue, visit sites like joyofbocce.com and ibocce.com to find a local court — or even information on building your own.
You can purchase bocce sets online or at your local sporting goods store.
There are lots of variations, but the easiest way to play is called “open” bocce. A member of Team A throws out the smallest ball — known as the “pallino” or “jack” — which acts as a marker. The same person gets the first chance to throw one of their larger balls as close to the pallino as possible.
Use an underarm throw or roll the bocce balls.
Now, Team B gets their chance to throw a ball as close to the pallino as they can. The play alternates until all the larger balls are gone. Whoever lands closest to the pallino wins that set, making them the “in” team.
After all the balls have been thrown, the “in” team scores one point for every ball that’s closer to the pallino than the other team’s best ball, meaning the one they got nearest to the pallino.
After the score is counted, the balls are gathered up and the “out” team throws the pallino to start another round. Play continues until one team scores a set number of points, usually about 13.
For a slight variation, try the nearest ball rule. A member of Team A pitches the pallino and his or her larger ball. Team B then bowls, and tries to get closer to the pallino. If Team B lands a ball closer, Team A bowls again. If Team B uses all their balls and doesn’t get closer, Team A wins.
What’s that? You accidentally knocked the other team’s ball out of the way, bumped the pallino to a new position, or surrounded the pallino with your team’s balls like a fortress? Play both offensively and defensively to become a bocce master.
The Italian military leader Giuseppe Garibaldi is widely credited with reintroducing bocce into popular culture in the 1800s.
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Comments (6)
Bocce is my favorite game... especially while wine tasting up in Napa!
over 3 years ago by sanjay
So *that* is how you play! I saw some old men playing this in Paris when I last visited, and have wondered ever since how on Earth the game works.
over 2 years ago by John_Lars
Really nicely shot!
over 3 years ago by HeatherM
pretty backyard!
over 3 years ago by mmf23
bocce rulez!
over 2 years ago by sraman84
Its amazing……..want to show your video on real Tv ?
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over 2 years ago by uploadedtv007
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