The American Cornhole Organization

The Governing Body For The Sport Of Cornhole

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American Cornhole Official Rules

Official Cornhole Rules and Regulations	Click to download official cornhole rules. Printer Friendly Version
CORNHOLE RULES: Overview RULE 1: Cornhole Court Layout RULE 2: Cornhole Pitching Distances RULE 3: Cornhole Playing Equipment (Boards and Bags) RULE 4: Cornhole Court Preparation and Maintenance RULE 5: Play of the Cornhole Game	RULE 6: Length of the Cornhole Game RULE 7: Cornhole Scoring RULE 8: Appropriate Conduct for Cornhole RULE 9: ACO Ranking and Awards RULE 10: ACO Sanctioned Tournament Play ACO GLOSSARY of Official Terms

RULE 6: Cornhole Length Of Game

6.1 Cornhole Game Options

• Traditional 21 Game – The game is played until one team reaches (or exceeds) 21 points at the
  completion of a frame. The winning team does not need to win by two or more points.
• Frame Game – The game is played until each team or player has pitched 13 complete frames.
  The winning team is the team scoring the most cumulative points out of an available 156 points.
  (52 of 52 cornholes is a perfect game for a 156 total score).
• Qualifier or Seeding Game – Each player or team throws a minimum of one complete Frame
  Game. Team/Player seeding is determined by their total cumulative score when compared with
  the rest of the participants. Based on this ranking system, teams and players are qualified and
  seeded at the same time for a bracket tournament.

6.2 The Cornhole Frame Must Be Finished – Matches cannot end in the middle of a frame. Thus, if a team pitching first reaches or exceeds 21 points, the game is not over until the other side is allowed to pitch all of their bags to complete the frame.

6.3 Ties At The End Of A Frame – If a match is tied at the end of a Frame Game, a single bag toss off will determine the winner of the game. Teams/Players can throw from either side of board in sudden death. The player or team throwing the better bag will be declared the winner. In Doubles, all four players throw one bag from the same board, rotating shots until one team outscores the other.

6.4 SHUCK or Skunk – Skunks do not apply to sanctioned leagues, tournament play or a Frame Game. But for casual backyard play in the Traditional 21 game, a skunk or shuck automatically ends the game when a team scores 13 or more points before the other team scores any points. We call this a "SHUCK" as in "You've been Shucked".