How to Play Bocce Ball

A go-to backyard party game.

Bocce ball is a common outdoor lawn game that can be played by people of all ages and skill levels, making it a backyard barbecue must-have. Keep reading to find step-by-step instructions that’ll help you learn how to play bocce ball.

How to Play Bocce Ball

Green lawn with an array of Bocce balls scattered around

What You Need

Bocce ball set
Friends or family to play with
Level ground or bocce ball court
Tape measure

Bocce Ball Basics

Bocce consists of eight large player balls and one small white ball called a pallino.
There are two teams. Each team can have one, two, or four players.
There are four balls per team.
The aim is to throw your balls closer to the pallino than your opponent.
The first team to reach 12 points wins the game.
A match typically consists of three games.

Bocce Team Setup

Each team has a set of balls that are a different color or pattern from the other team; this makes it easier for players to distinguish between theirs and the opposing team’s set of bocce balls. The smaller ball, the pallino, is what each team will try to throw their bocce balls toward.

Backyard Bocce Court Dimensions

illustration depicting a backyard bocce court

A professional bocce ball court is 90' long and 13' wide, while backyard bocce courts are typically around 60' long and 12' wide. Each side of the court has a foul line that is roughly 4' – 6' from the end of the court. There is a hitting foul line (commonly called the spocking line) 8' – 10' from the foul line on each side of the court. A line stretches widthwise across the center of the court to show where the middle is. If you are playing on your lawn, use a tape measure to map out the distance, and use cones or other markers to help lay out your backyard bocce court lines.

The Objective

The game starts with a coin toss. The team that wins the coin toss gets to throw the pallino. The pallino must pass the center line of the court and must stay within the court boundaries. Ideally, the pallino will land somewhere in the center of the court. If the pallino thrower fails to keep the ball inside of the court, the pallino throw then goes to the other team. The same player throws the first bocce ball, ensuring not to walk past the foul line, with the goal of getting it as close as possible to the pallino.

Next, a player from the opposing team rolls or tosses a bocce ball, trying to get as close as possible to the pallino while hoping to knock the other team's bocce ball farther away. Then the original team has another turn. The game proceeds from there, resulting in team members from both teams rolling the rest of their bocce balls.

Bocce Rules

There is a center line stretching widthwise across the middle to divide the court. Each side of the court has a foul line that is roughly 4' – 6' from the end of the court. The hitting foul or spocking line is 8' – 10' from the foul line. Any throw from behind the foul line is considered a throw for points. Any throw from the hitting foul line is considered a throw for knocking the opponent’s balls out of bounds, not for points. If a player decides to try spocking, they must tell the opposing team since they will be stepping over the foul line. Hitting or spocking is to throw the ball hard enough to knock the opponent’s balls away from the pallino, resulting in decreasing the opposing team’s potential points or hitting the pallino closer to their team's bocce balls, resulting in more overall points for their team. If the thrower hits neither the pallino nor another bocce ball, their ball is taken off of the court.

Bocce Scoring

A team earns one point for each ball that is closer to the pallino than the opposing team. If you need to measure which ball is closer, it's time to pull out your tape measure. If a bocce ball is touching (commonly called kissing) the pallino, it’s worth two points. If both teams have balls that are equidistant from the pallino, neither team receives a point. A round is complete once all balls have been thrown. Additional rounds are played until one team reaches 12 points. The first team to reach 12 points is the winner of the game. A match typically consists of three games played within the same teams.

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