The fact that bocce ball has survived so long is a testament to its ability to entertain its players.  Considering basic bocce ball rules, it is entirely possible it provided the fundamental beginnings of many modern day similar games such as horseshoes and croquet.  Bocce ball has a controversial history too – at one point being outlawed by Emperor Charles the fourth (13th century) – as it was a distraction to his soldiers – keeping them from focusing on their military training.

Bocce ball is most often played in a very simple manner, called ‘open’, which allows the balls to be either thrown or rolled.  It also has a ‘formal’ way that’s distinguished from the way most people play it – that is with a defined court that can be played indoors or outdoors.  There’s one smaller ball called the pallino, which is thrown by the starting team’s designated player.  The team that throws the pallino is determined by a coin toss typically.  There is also a foul line established which all throwers may not cross.

Once the pallino is tossed, that same player must then throw one of the remaining balls with the objective being to land it as close to the pallino as possible.  Next, the opposing team then tosses/rolls one of their bocce balls with the intent of landing it between the pallino and the first team’s bocce ball.  They keep tossing their bocce balls until they land one between the first two which is called being ‘inside’.

When all the balls have been thrown the team with the most ‘inside’ balls wins.  One point is awarded to each ball that is ‘inside’.  The winning team then gets to begin the next match by tossing the pallino.  When there is a tie – no points are awarded.  It’s perfectly ok to hit another teams ball on the toss.  In fact that’s the part of the game that reminds me of croquet.  It’s one of the fun aspects of both games.

It plays rather quickly as you might imagine, which is probably why it was an easy game to travel with for soldiers.  Over twenty million Americans have played one form of bocce ball or another and its popularity is on the rise – to the point that it has been proposed as an Olympic event.  If you’ve been looking for a unique backyard game to play, bocce ball is certainly worth considering.