Bocce Ball

Open bocce is the most popular form of bocce by casual players.  The great thing about open bocce is that it can be played almost anywhere there is open space.  This includes grassy surfaces such as a front lawn or back yard, dirt surfaces, sandy surfaces such as the beach, and even paved surfaces like parking lots.  The places that you can play bocce are only limited to your imagination.  Try playing bocce on a surface with hills or slopes to add a new element of strategy to your game.

Players-2, 4, or 8 players per game (With 4 or 8 players you can institute teams by using the colors of the bocce balls.  Teams will consist of 2 players).

Bocce is played with 2 larger balls per player and one smaller ball (called the pallino). 

At random, choose a player to throw the pallino.  After the pallino is thrown, the same player will throw their first bocce ball.  The purpose of the game is to get your bocce balls as close as possible to the pallino without touching the pallino.  If your bocce ball touches the pallino then you (or your team if playing with teams) lose that frame.  After the first player has thrown their first bocce ball, they are considered "inside" because their ball is closer to the pallino than any of the competitors balls.  All other players are considered "outside."  Whenever a player is considered "inside," he will forfeit his turn throwing bocce balls.  All "outside" players will take turns throwing their bocce balls until they until one of theirs gets closer to the pallino than the "inside" player. 

After all players have thrown their bocce balls, the player that is "inside" will be awarded points.  One point will be awarded to this player for every ball that is closer to the pallino than his closest competitor's ball.  After the points are awarded, the frame is completed.  The individual (or team) that won the previous frame will begin the next frame by throwing the pallino to the next place they desire.

Games will be played to 7-13 points depending on class size.