Yard Games at Sunset RV Park

Ladder Golf

Official Rules
Ladder Golf® is played with 2 or more players or teams. Each player has 3 golf ball bolas. A bola is 2 golf balls attached by a nylon rope. The object of the game is to wrap your bolas around the steps of the ladder. The ladder consists of 3 steps, a top, middle and a bottom step.

Playing the Game:
Prior to game play a line must be set 5 paces from the ladder. This is the called the toss line. The official toss line is 15 feet away but most players measure 5 paces from the game ladder to set the toss line. This allows for a closer toss line for children’s games. Ladder Golf is played in rounds, each round consists of all players tossing 3 bolas. A coin toss is used to decide which player or team will toss first. The first player must toss all 3 bolas before the next player is able to toss his or her bolas. Bolas can be tossed in anyway the player chooses, as long as they are tossed individually and can be bounced off the ground. The winner of the round earns the first toss in the next round. Games are played to an exact point total of 21. In order to win, a player must be the only one to score exactly 21 points after the completion of a round. If a player goes over the exact point total, that players points for that round do not count. For example: A player with 18 points needs 3 points to get the exact score of 21 in order to win. If that player has 5 points hanging on the ladder after all the players have tossed all strands, none of those points count and the player will enter the next round with 18 points again needing 3 points to win. In the case of a tie, the players that tie will play as many overtime rounds as needed until one player ends a complete round 2 points ahead of the other player. The 2 point rule only applies in overtime rounds. During regular play any player can win as long as that player is the only one to score an exact total of 21 points at the end of that round no matter how many points the other players have.

Etiquette of the Game:
Basic etiquette of Ladder Golf® states that contestants should make as many remarks, sounds or movements as possible during play in order to distract the opponent’s during play. Touching the player during tossing is never allowed. In the course of play no contestant is to walk to the ladder prior to completion of the current round of play.

Scoring:
After all teams have tossed all their bolas, scoring is determined by the bolas that are still hanging from the steps. Players can knock-off bolas during the course of the game, in fact knocking-off other players bolas is encouraged and a good way to play defensively. bolas that are knocked off during play do not count as points. Only bolas that are left hanging after all bolas are tossed are counted as points.

Points:
Points are determined by which step your bola wraps around. The top step is worth 3 points the middle step is worth 2 points and the bottom step is only worth 1 point. Players can score an optional bonus of 1 point by hanging all 3 bolas from the same step or by hanging a bola on all 3 (1-2-3) steps in one round. The highest amount of points available per player is 10. This is accomplished by hanging all 3 bolas on the top (3 point) step.

Team Play:
Four players can play Ladder Golf® by alternating play each round. Players simply alternate turns with teammates. Extra bolas can also be purchased so up to 4 players can play individually on the same ladder or a second ladder can be purchased for team play. With multiple ladders 2 players on opposite teams would be on one side and the other 2 opposing players would be at the other game ladder. One side would toss all bolas and the other team would toss them back. Same rules apply.

Glossary of Terms:
Bolas: A Bola consists of 2 golf balls attached together with a piece of nylon rope. Golf Balls are spaced 13” apart. Ladder: The ladder is the structure that consists of 3 steps each spaced 13 inches apart. Steps or Rungs: Each ladder has 3 steps. The top step is worth 3 points, the middle 2 and the bottom 1 point. Toss Line: The line that the players tosses from. Officially is set to 15 feet. For backyard games 5 paces works fine.

Bocce

From GameRules.com:

OVERVIEW OF BOCCE
Bocce, sometimes referred to as “bocce ball”, is one of the most well-known backyard games in the world. Yet, surprisingly, this sport – one of the oldest in the world – is relatively foreign to many Americans despite its lengthy history and accessibility.

Bocce was first documented in an Egyptian painting of two boys playing an early version of the game. This painting dates back to 5200 BC! This game was never lost to history, later surfacing in the Middle East and ancient Greece. After their conquest of the Mediterranean region, the Romans adopted the sport and spread it further across the region. This Roman influence likely explains the game’s Latin-derived Italian name.

Bocce’s popularity has risen and fallen throughout history, although the game is now etched in the pastimes of many cultures. The worldwide popularity of this sport is likely due in part to its simplicity and accessibility; bocce simply requires objects to throw and a method of measurement.

SETUP

EQUIPMENT
Bocce Balls: Bocce balls are hard, round, and roughly four inches in diameter. Eight of these are required for play; four balls of one color and four of another color.

Pallino: A pallino is a tiny white ball measuring 1.4 inches in diameter, or roughly ⅓ of the size of the bocce balls.

Measurement Device: A method of measuring the distance between balls is recommended, although it is not necessary. Most players use traditional measurement methods, such as tape measures, while others use string to provide rough estimates.

TEAM SIZES
Bocce can be played with a minimum of two players and a maximum of the number of balls used (traditionally eight). As long as each player can throw at least one ball, they can play.

For optimal and fair gameplay, teams should include one, two, or four players. There will be two teams.

PLAYING SURFACE
An official bocce court is 90 feet long by 13 feet wide. However, some don’t even bother to measure court dimensions.

Bocce is meant to be an extremely simple, accessible sport that can be played in the street or in somebody’s yard. Anyone can play bocce as long as there is enough space and the ground is mostly level.

GAMEPLAY
A bocce game begins with a coin toss to determine which team throws the first bocce ball, the pallino. The player who throws the pallino must then throw the first ball toward the pallino. The goal is to land the ball closer to the pallino than the opponents’ balls. Teams then alternate throws until all eight balls have been exhausted.

Instead of alternating throws between teams, some players prefer to play with rules that a team must keep throwing their team’s bocce balls until they own the ball closest to the pallino. This means that a team could throw a ball right next to the pallino on their first throw, forcing the other team to throw all four of their balls, attempting to get closer to the pallino than the other team. If they fail to get their balls closer, the other team still throws the rest of their bocce balls after the opposing team runs out of throws.

SCORING
After all eight balls are thrown, the scoring team who threw the ball closest to the pallino wins the round. Every ball thrown by the winning team closer to the pallino than the opponent’s closest ball also awards the winning team one point each, for a maximum of four points per round.

Some players also prefer to play with a rule that considers any ball touching the pallino at the end of the round to be worth two points.

Bocce games are typically played to a score of 12 points, although this target number can be adjusted to any desired amount.

RULES
There is only one major rule to follow when you play Bocce ball: players must throw while standing behind a designated line. Courts designed for bocce often have this as a painted line, also called the “ten-foot line”, although backyard players can agree upon any spot to throw from. Failure to throw from behind this line can either result in a retried attempt or an omission of that throw.

Similar to the sport of curling, players are allowed to hit their own balls and the opponent’s balls. Players are even allowed to hit and completely displace the pallino from its original location (as long as it remains within the field of play).

THROWING TECHNIQUE
Traditional bocce rules require balls to be tossed in an underhand motion.

In addition, to bowl well, you must account for a ball’s ability to roll depending on the surface being played on. For example, flat surfaces allow balls to roll quite far, resulting in many players almost treating the game as lawn bowling. Contrarily, playing bocce on unkempt grass can significantly limit the roll of the balls, resulting in players needing to be more accurate with their tosses.

END OF GAME
The first team to reach a 12-point total (or any predetermined target) is the winner of the bocce match.

(Coming soon!) Cornhole

From American Cornhole Organization:

Boards are placed 27 feet from front edge to front edge.

Games are played to 21 or more points. (no bust)

Woody: Refers to any cornhole bag that has been pitched and remains on the cornhole board
playing surface at the conclusion of the frame. Each woody is 1pt.

Cornhole: Refers to any cornhole bag that has been pitched and passes through the cornhole
board hole at anytime within the frame. Each cornhole is 3pts.

A bag that comes to rest touching the ground AND the board does not count as a point.

Cancellation Scoring: 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 frame.

Both players play one board at a time and stay in their designated lane for the whole game
(right or left).

Players start the game at one board and alternate pitching bags until each player has pitched all
(4) of their bags.

Players then walk to the end of their lane to the other board, take score, and resume pitching
back to the other cornhole board.

Players must deliver the bag with an underhanded release.

Feet must stay behind the line of the front of the board at the time of releasing the bag.

The player/team who scored in the preceding frame pitches first in the next frame.
If neither player/team scores, the player/team who pitched first in the preceding frame shall retain
first pitch in the next frame.

If bags become piled inside the hole and may interfere or obstruct with the next pitch or if there
is question whether a cornhole bag would have naturally fallen through the hole, a player may
request to rake the cornhole bags that have fallen inside the hole.