1. These are the rules created for this league. The rules are a somewhat different from traditional bocce rules, but who’s really paying attention anyhow? If you have any issues with these rules you can bring them up with our nonexistent complaint department, but rest assured you can make your own rules when you have your own bocce league.

2. Bocce is played with a set of 4 balls for each team (red or blue/green) and one pallino (a smaller ball about the size of a golf ball and used as a marker). The object of the game is to get your team’s balls as close to the pallino as possible. After both teams have thrown all their balls the team with the ball closest to the pallino gets a point for every ball that is a closer than their opponents. This is a match.

3. For league nights we will pay 5 matches to make up one game. The team with the most points (balls closest to the pallino) after 5 matches will win the game. Each league night you will play 2 games that will be counted toward your winning average. You can play more than 2 games if you choose, but decide with the team you’re playing whether the extra games will count. Don’t treat your winning average so preciously, the more you play the better you’ll get.

4. Before each game decide which team gets the ability to throw the pallino first (aka: pallino advantage). From here alternate pallino tosses between teams after each match.

5. The team with the pallino advantage starts each match by throwing the pallino wherever they’d like. Once the pallino has been thrown, the pallino thrower will draw a line and throw the first bocce. The opposing team will then throw the next bocce, making sure to keep their foot on the drawn or implied line. Whoever is closest to the pallino will have leverage, the team furthest will continue to throw their balls until they are either closest or have thrown all their balls. At the end of the match, when both teams are out of balls, the team whose balls are closest to the pallino gets one point for each ball closer than the opponent’s closest ball.  Only one team can score points in a match. 

6. Teams will alternate members for each throw.

7. If you are an all male team playing an all male team you may throw the pallino as far as you’d like. If you are an all male team playing a team with a woman and you throw the pallino long, the lady has the right to request a re-toss. Men do not have this right, but women do.

8. Your foot must be on or behind the drawn or implied line when throwing. You cannot stand to the left or right of the line, only behind or on the line. If there is a discrepancy then work it out between yourselves.

9. Obstacles that obscure the view of the pallino may only be removed from the field of play by mutual consent. If upon the first toss the pallino is too difficult to see, then the teams can together decide whether or not to re-toss. Sand dunes may be made smaller and obstacles can be moved if agreed upon by both teams.

10. After 5 matches the team with the most points wins that game. In the result of a tie you will play one more match and the winner of that 6th match wins the game.

11. Each team will have “pallino advantage” for 1 of the 2 games. The pallino advantage means that your team will get to throw the pallino first during that game; deciding the field of play for matches 1, 3 and 5. The opposing team will throw the pallino for matches 2 and 4. Since both teams will play 2 games against each other in a league night, each team will have pallino advantage at least once. This is to ensure fair court play. If you don’t know what to do or play more than two games, then a good game of rock/paper/scissors will make it fair. The same decision making technique can work for a tiebreaking match if necessary.

12. If your team partner is not available to play on a league night you can play by yourself or with another ringer. This, however, will not be the case in the finals. In the finals you must play with a team of 2 players. If your partner is not available for the finals you must recruit a ringer, or ask your league chairman for help.

13. The finals will consist of a single elimination bracketed system that will be arranged by winning averages. Each game will be played up to 11 points (winning by 2 and taking as many matches as necessary). The first team that gets 11 points wins that game and advances. In the case of a tie game that goes beyond the allotted time limit there will be one sudden death match to decide the winner.

14. In order to be eligible for the league’s finals your team must have attended at least half of the league’s game nights. You can play with half your team (individually) on league nights. Thus your team needs to play half the league games with half the team to be eligible for the finals. If this is not the case for your team do not fear, you will still be eligible for the finals, but you will have the bottom of the ranking in the bracket. You winning average will be 0.