ALERT:  **** Look here for game status updates each day in case there is a delay or cancelation; typically posted 1hr before the 1st scheduled games that day. ****
If registration on your preferred night is full message us and we'll see what options are available. BSR Website tips:. ---- Click on this gray alert bar for tips & info: (1) answers to most questions can be found on our FAQ or on rules pages (2) Click on your team name in the schedule to see just your teams games (3) Are you missing emails from BSR? check our website FAQ under General FAQs for how to fix this
 

Cornhole League Rules

Last updated:  2022 Feburary

    Updated Rules:

  • 2 Dec 2022 - BSR policy on league tshirts has been updated
 
 - BSR conditionally allows subs to play; if your team needs a sub one night be sure to read rules below in the rules
    

 

Overview

Cornhole is intended to be a fun social experience. If both teams agree to a rule change and can agree to it before the start of play, feel free to amend or ignore any game play rules during regular season.

Examples include: Move the boards a little closer, agree not to follow the rotation, or choose not to enforce a cornhole foul. Teams are encouraged to be lax with each other on the rules at lower levels to increase the enjoyment of the activity for everyone.

ALWAYS MAKE SURE BOTH TEAMS KNOW AND AGREE ON THE SCORE FOR THAT ROUND AND OF THE CURRENT GAME BEFORE BAGS ARE REMOVED FROM THE BOARD.

 

Participating Players

  • Each game, teams field up to 4 players to play on 2 sets of boards.
  • For teams that are shorthanded, if your team can only field…
    • 1 player at game time,
      • The player will play against their opponent on board A and walk back and forth. 
      • The team with 1 player will take a loss on board B.
    • 2 players at game time,
      • One player from the team will throw and walk on each of the two boards.
    • 3 players at game time,
      • Two players will throw on one board and the third will throw and walk on the other
    • 4 players at game time,
      • Two players will throw from one side on each of the two sets of boards
  • During both the playoffs and the regular season, any player that walks can only throw 3 bags instead of throwing 4 bags.
  • Players arriving late may join games in progress 
  • If a team’s opponent isn’t able to field a legal team at the start of the game/scheduled game time, the complete team will be awarded a win on each board. If your team wants to substitute a player, follow the rules outlined in the 'subs' section of the FAQ (FAQ - League Information - Are subs allowed?).

 

Rosters

  • You can have as many players as you want on your roster, but the minimum number of players is 6.
  • Teams have no gender requirements.
  • Additional players, including players who register as free agents, can be added to the roster anytime until the third week of the season.
  • Captains are responsible for the conduct of teams. This means they’ll need to make sure all players are legal and conform to league play standards.
  • Teams caught with illegal players or subs will lose all games for that night.
    • If this happens twice, that team will be excluded from the playoffs.
  • All players must meet league player requirements. (FAQ - League Information - Player Requirements)
  • All players must wear their league tshirts to participate when league tshirts are provided. (FAQ - League Information - What if I paid late and have not received a league tshirt or forget my league tshirt one night?)
  • From time to time for various reasons players may become upset and curse, complain, and more.  When this occurs, our staff will respond and take actions from issuing a warning, to taking a time out, up to ejecting a player form the game.  For more info reference our FAQ. (FAQ - League Information - Ejections)
  • Team captains can request the referee for a roster check on thier opponents.  The roster check must be requested before the game begins.  Exception: a player who showed up and joined in after the game began, in this case the team captain needs to request the check when that new player first enters the game.

 

 

 

Max

 

 

Minimum

 

 

Total

Men

Women

Total

Men

Women

Roster

 

 

 

6

When playing

4*

 

 

4*

* During regular season number of players adjustable if both teams agree
 

Equipment & Field Setup

  • All equipment will be provided by Be Social Richmond.
    • 2 Cornhole boards
    • Bean bags
      -- Teams/players may bring and use their own cornhole bags for any regular season and or playoff game as long as if their opponent ask they must also let their opponents play with the same bags.   Example:  Team A brings bags they wish to play with.  Team B can choose to use the BSR supplied bags, the bags team A brought, or bags they've brought.   If Team B uses bags they brought then team A would also have the option to use the bags team B brought.  This ensures no team can gain an advantage by using equipment that can singularly provide them a competitive advantage.  
      -- Bags used in a game can not be swapped out for other bags unless it's to replace a damaged bag that is ripped and or leaking contents.


League Scoring, Standings, Seeding

 

Regular Season

  • Each season will last 7 week, PLUS playoffs.
  • During the regular season, teams will play 8 games each night.
    • 2 games on 2 sets of boards at a time.
    • Games can last up to 12 minutes.
  • Teams that won or lost more than 75% of their games the previous season may be moved up or down a skill level.
  • During the regular season, all that matters is how many games your team wins and loses each night. There can be no ties.
    • Each night teams must track the numbers of wins and losses from their scheduled games and report that to the BSR staff (record/write on the schedule)
    • Regular season ties are broken by both teams throwing all 8 bags one additonal time, if still tied throw all 8 bags again, if still tie contiue throwing one bag per team per side until tie is broken
  • Both teams should know and agree on score for each round and each game at all times.

 

Playoffs

  • During the playoffs all points matter. This means you’ll need to keep track of both points scored and given up in addition to wins and losses.
  • Teams with 1+ forfeits during the regular season will be excluded from the playoffs.
  • Teams caught using players who aren’t on their roster or using players who weren’t signed up as legal subs will be excluded from the playoffs.
  • Game points will need to be tracked for tie-breaking purposes (except for championship games).
    • Both teams should know and agree on score for each round and each game at all times.
  • Seeding details this multi-game per night sport can be found in the FAQ (FAQ - League Information - How are standings calculated for the regular season?)
  • Each season will be played in single elimination match format.
  • Rotation rules must be followed during the playoffs.
  • Teams that win more games than their opponent that round will advance to the next round.
  • For teams that split wins…
    • If it’s not the championship game, the team that scored the most points will advance.
      • if the W/L and points are tied then each team will select 2 players and following the championship gmae tiebreaker rules
    • If it’s the championship game or if both teams score the same number of points…
      • Both teams will pick 2 players on their team to participate in a throw off against the other team.
      • All 8 bags are thrown from one board to the other.
      • If there’s still a tie, then all 8 bags are thrown back.
      • If there’s still a tie, then bags are thrown one at a time until the tie is broken.
      • If teams are late for the playoff games, the same scoring rules will apply as the regular season.

 

Honors = Who Throws First

  • The team with the blue bags has honors in round 1of all games.
  • The team who wins the round is given honors to throw first in the next round.
  • If both teams have the same round score, then the game score stays the same and honors stay with the team who had it the previous round.

Point System

  • A bag that goes through the hole = 3 points
  • A bag that falls on the playing surface = 1 point
  • A bag that is hanging into the hole = 1 point
  • A bag that is hanging off the edge but not touching the ground = 1 point
  • A bag that is on the playing surface, but also touching the ground = 0 points
  • A bag that is hanging off the front edge and is resting on a cornhole bag that is on the ground = 0 points
    •  However, if you can remove the bag on the ground without the one on the board falling, then 1 point is awarded.

Fouls

  • If a player’s foot goes past the foot foul line (the front of the Cornhole board), it’s considered a foul, and the throw is void.
    • You’ll need to remove the bag if the void throw has landed on the board.
    • If a player throws out of turn, it’s considered a foul, and the throw is void.      
      • If the throw hit any bag on the board, reset the board.
      • The bag is lost for that round.
      • If a player starts removing bags before the last bag is tossed or the score is set, it’s considered a foul.
        • If this happens, the non-offending team can call for the round to be replayed.
        • All removed bags scores would count.

Overtime

  • Overtime is allowed during the regular season.
  • Overtime is NOT allowed during the playoffs, except for the final championship match.
  • Overtime lasts until all 8 bags are thrown.
    • If there’s still a tie, throw all 8 bags again. If a tie again, each team will throw 1 bag at a time until the tie is broken.

 

What to Expect on Game Day

Nightly Games

  • Teams will play 8 games against an opponent each night.
  • Games will be played 2 at a time.
  • Each game will be limited to 12 minutes. (Most games last about 9 minutes.)
    • A 2-minute warning will be given towards the end of each game.
  • Teams are assigned blue bags or red bags each night.
  • Teams will follow a rotation between each pair of games that has the goal of players always playing against other new players. (There are captain’s sheets at the field that explain the rotation.)
  • Due to team sizes, subbing, and a team playing short, it may not be possible to always play with or against new players.

 

Game Rules

 

Field setup

  • Boards will be placed 27 feet apart, facing front to front.
  • Games begin with all 8 bags on 1 board/side.
  • Each team gets 4 bags of 1 color.

 

Match and Game Time

  • When the ref blows the whistle, begin throwing.
  • After 10 minutes, the ref will announce a 2-minute warning.
  • The ref will announce when time has expired and for the teams to finish throwing.

 

Where to Stand

  • Players on the same team stand on the same side of the board.
  • The side of the board is determined by which color bags have been assigned to your team.
  • Teams assigned RED bags will take their place at the boards first for the 1st and 3rd rounds; teams assigned BLUE bags will take their place first at the boards for the 2nd and 4th rounds.
  • No player may stand next to the same player on the other teeam more than once per night unless one of the players is "walking"

 

Game Play

  • If a player throws out of turn, see Fouls below.
  • The team with the blue bags has honors in round 1 of all games.
  • The team who has honors will begin the game by throwing a bag at the opposite board.
    • If a player throws out of turn, see Fouls below.
  • Players from each team will alternate throwing 1 bag at a time until all 8 bags have been thrown.
  • A player can throw from anywhere on their assigned side and behind the front edge of the board they’re throwing from.
    • You may not cross in back of the hole.

 

Winning a Game

  • The first team to get 21+ points, wins that game.
  • If no team has 21+ when time expires, the team with the most points wins.
  • If both teams have the same number of points when time expires…
    • All 4 bags are thrown back 1 time in the normal manner to try to break the tie.
    • If there is still a tie, bags are then thrown 1 at a time until the tie is broken.
      • However, in the playoffs, teams can tie unless it’s during final championship games.
  • League standings are based on winning percentage.

Cancelation Scoring

  • After each round of throws, teams will count the number of points their team scored. Then, points for that round are awarded to the team that outscored the other.

Example: team A got 1 bag in the hole and 1 bag on the board, which is 4 points total. The opposing team got 2 bags on the board, which is 2 points total. Team A scored 2 points that round.

 

 

Rules are subject to change when and as needed by BSR staff.