These rules for beach bocce are designed for playing on a smooth, compacted, beach sand surface, when the tide is out.  Take a look at the photos page for a great beach bocce court surface. 

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Which bocce balls to purchase - I really like the full size heavy bocce balls, with two color sets of four balls.  I don't recommend using the beach bocce ball sets which come with four colors sets of two balls.  The sets also come with one smaller ball, usually white or yellow.  Real bocce players call it the jack or pollino or boccino.  I just call it the white ball, unless it is yellow; and then... you know the rest.   

Selecting the perfect court area for Beach Bocce - Look for smooth, compacted sand, with a gentle slope toward the water.   The slope is the BOMB in this game!  You have to play the break.  If there is no slope, you really miss this fun and challenging element.  But be aware - if the slope is too steep, you will not be able to stop the ball and it will constantly roll out of bounds.

Draw the Beach Bocce Court - Get a stick or sharp object several feet long and use it o draw the boundary lines for the beach bocce court in the sand.  The boundary line should be a very solid cut in the sand.  The  beach bocce court looks like a singles tennis court.  Draw it 16 yards long and 8 yards wide, with a dividing line in the middle, so you  have two connected 8 yard squares.  I use a yard (or meter if you are a metric person) because you can step it off without a measuring tape.  For those non-USA-football people, one really big step is basically 1 yard.  IMPORTANT - Remember to position the beach bocce court over the sloping area you selected, with the 16 yard length being parallel to the water.  Here's the picture. 

Winning @ Beach Bocce - Games are to 13 points.   

Start the game

• Singles Beach Bocce - Both players begin on the same end of the beach bocce court, standing behind the boundary line.  Each player has 4 balls of the same color.  For example, one has 4 red balls and one has 4 green balls. 
• Doubles Beach Bocce - Each end of the beach bocce court has a player from each team.  The two opponents at one end each have the 4 balls for their team. 
• Choose the player or team who will start first by throwing the white ball.  In subsequent games between these two players, the loser throws first. 
• The first player stands behind the back boundary line, anywhere they wish along the back line, and throws or rolls the white ball across the mid-court line, making the ball come to rest within the boundary of the far court.  The player has two chances at getting the white ball to come to rest in the far court.  After two chances, the other player gets two chances, and so on.
  • NOTE - it is perfectly ok for the white ball to roll out-of-bounds and come back into the boundary area.  This happens frequently in playing the break, when you are trying to place the white ball at the highest part of the course.  You may throw it in the out-of-bounds area and let the ball roll down into the beach bocce court. 
  • If the ball comes to rest on a boundary line, the ball is considered "in."
• Once the white ball has come to rest in the far court, that same player who threw the white ball that stayed in the court throws the first bocce ball. The bocce balls are to be behind the boundary line, generally lined up along the back boundary line.  In order to count, the bocce ball must come to rest in the far court.  Just as with the white ball, the bocce ball may roll out-of-bounds and back in, and it is considered "in" if it comes to rest on the line.   If the first bocce ball does not make it inside the boundary lines for the far court, the same player continues to throw one ball at a time, until they get a bocce ball to come to rest in the far court, or until they run out of balls.  Once getting a ball in the far court, this ball is the closest bocce ball to the white ball. 
• Now it is the other player's time to throw their first bocce ball.  That player will continue to throw one ball at a time until one of their bocce balls has come to rest in the far court, closer to the white ball than their opponent's ball.   
• Once this player's ball is closer to the white ball, then the other player throws one bocce ball at a time until their ball is closer to the white ball than the closest ball of their opponent. 
• This back-and-forth continues until the players are out of balls.  Note that once a player has thrown all his bocce balls, the other player then throws all his remaining balls, one at a time. 

Scoring - The player with the closest bocce ball to the white ball gets a point for that ball, and also gets a point for every other ball that player has which is closer to the white ball than their opponent's closest ball.  Again, to be counted, the bocce ball must be within the boundary line of the far court. 

Playing - Once the first round is over, the players begin the second round at the opposite end of the beach bocce court from the first round, and so on. 

• If you are playing doubles beach bocce, the balls are then rolled to be behind the back boundary line where the other players have been waiting.  These players will be throwing the white ball and their bocce balls toward the far court (from their perspective), in the same fashion as set out above.
• Remember, the loser of a round is the first one to throw the white ball in the next round. 
• Do not move a ball that has come to rest in-bounds until the round is over and scored. 
• The first player or team to score 13 points wins that game. 

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Beach Bocce - Beach Bocce - Beach Bocce - Beach Bocce - Beach Bocce

Beach Bocce - Beach Bocce - Beach Bocce - Beach Bocce - Beach Bocce

Beach Bocce - Beach Bocce - Beach Bocce - Beach Bocce - Beach Bocce

Beach Bocce - Beach Bocce - Beach Bocce - Beach Bocce - Beach Bocce