Cornhole, also known as bean bag toss, baggo or bags, is a lawn game in which players take turns throwing bean bags at a raised platform with a hole in the far end. These platforms are usually made with plywood or plastic and are often decorated. A corn bag in the hole scores 3 points, while one on the platform scores 1 point. Play continues until a player reaches the score of 21.
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Cornhole matches are broken down into innings or frames of play. During each inning, every player throws four bags. A player may deliver the bag from either the left or right pitcher's box, but, in any one inning, all bags must be delivered from the same pitcher’s box. It is possible that both players can throw from the same pitcher's box. Also, the player gets a three foot box to throw in. Each player must deliver the bag within twenty seconds. The time starts when the player steps onto the pitcher’s box with the intention of pitching. The player who scored in the preceding inning pitches first in the next inning. If neither pitcher scores, the contestant or team who pitched last in the preceding inning pitches first in the next inning.
Cornhole can be played as either doubles or singles. In doubles play, four players split into two teams. One member from each team pitches from one cornhole platform and the other members pitch from the other. The first side of players alternate pitching bags until both players have thrown all four of their bags, then the players pitching from the opposing cornhole board continue to alternate in the same manner until all four of their bags are delivered and the inning or frame is completed. In singles play, two players play against each other. Delivery is handled in the same manner as doubles play. Both contestants pitch from the same cornhole platform and alternate their pitches until all of their bags have been pitched, completing the inning or frame.[1]
In order to score, the bags must either be tossed into the hole or land on the board. A bag that falls through the hole is worth a value of three points. The bag can be tossed directly into the hole, slide into the hole, or be knocked into the hole by another bag. A bag that lands on the board and is still on the board at the end of the inning is worth one point. If a bag touches the ground and comes to rest on the board, it is removed from the board prior to continuation of play and not worth any points. Usually, cancellation scoring is used. In cancellation scoring, bags that fall in the hole and bags that land on the board that are pitched by opponents during a frame cancel each other out. That is, if one player scores four points and the other player scores three points, the first player receives one point for the inning. In case of a tie, the team who ties the game, must go first.[1]
A cornhole match is played until the first player or team reaches or exceeds twenty-one points at the completion of an inning. The winning team does not need to win by two or more points. [1]
Another scoring variation requires one team to earn exactly twenty-one points; and if a team exceeds that number their team must return to fifteen points and the game continues.
The history of the game is mostly unknown,[2] though stories abound. One story claims that the game was first played during the 14th century in Germany, then rediscovered in Ohio within the last century.[2] Many American scholars confirm that a game of very similar nature was played amongst Native Americans in Midwest America, who filled pigs' bladders with dried beans and competitively tossed them for entertainment, notably, the Blackhawk tribe in Illinois. Debate about whether the game was actually created in the Kentucky farmland [3] is ongoing. Popularity of the game began to increase in the late 1990s in Athens, Ohio, and East Lansing, Michigan, area universities, particularly Ohio University and Michigan State University, where cornhole became a mainstay at parties and as a casual drinking game.
The following is a list of terms commonly used in cornhole: