How Bean Bag Toss Works

Want to win at bean bag toss? Simple. Score 21 points.

Want to score 21 points? It's not that simple.

For singles play, start by gathering two players and a platform. Each player takes turns tossing bags at the platform until all eight bags – four for each player – have been played, keeping track of the score as the game progresses.

In doubles play, teams of two players compete against each other using two platforms.

Using American Cornhole Association rules, the scoring goes like this:

Players have 20 seconds to deliver the bean bag once they enter the pitcher's box, which is 27 feet (8.2 meters) from the target platform. A pitcher can toss the bag from either side of the pitcher's box but must stay on the same side of the box for an entire inning. In an inning, both singles players take a turn or all four doubles players take a turn [source: American Cornhole Association].

The innings, or rounds, continue until a player or team reaches or exceeds 21 points. If you toss all the bags and no one has yet won, gather them up and keep going. A game can't end in the middle of an inning, so even if you score the winning point, you'll need to finish out the inning before calling the game.

In a variation known as "cancellation scoring," it becomes more difficult to win. That's because bags "in-the-hole" and "in-the-count" pitched by opponents in the same inning cancel each other out. Oh, and in a rare twist, if a player throws all four bags in the hole, it's an automatic 21 points for the win [source: American Cornhole Association, Stefanoff].

Although fun, bean bag toss can be humbling ... especially when your hand can't deliver what your ego promised: a bag in the hole. Don't despair. All you need is a little practice. You can start by mastering the basics.

First, select a comfortable stance. Whether you place a dominant foot forward as you throw or stand with feet shoulder-width apart, the motion should be fluid and followed through, like a golf swing (or tossing a Frisbee). Keep in mind, however, that you have the option to either throw underhand or overhand, and this requires some trial-and-error. One other note: Beware of the foul line. Cross it, and even a perfect throw won't count.

Second, decide how you'll throw the bag. Will you simply grab it around the middle and hope for the best? Not if you're serious about scoring. Here are a few tried-and-true variations [source: iCornhole]:

Once you've found a style you like, perfect your technique. There's a sweet spot on the platform about 6 inches (15.2 centimeters) in front of the hole. Concentrate on hitting that spot rather than the hole itself. If your bag hits that spot with forward velocity, it will – with regularity – slide right into the hole. This is called the slider.

Finally, if you really want to oust your opponents, master a few defensive moves [source: O'Shea]:

The origins of bean bag toss or cornhole are unclear. Some say it was invented in 14th century Germany by a farmer who may have been named Matthias Kueperman. Apparently he saw some boys throwing some heavy rocks into a hole and thought of making a safer game. German immigrants who settled in the U.S. brought the game with them [source: Cornhole Game Fun].

Others insist it was actually a Kentucky farmer in the early 1900s who inspired the game [source: Cornhole Game Fun]. Either way, it became popular in pockets of the Midwest but may have gotten its big break when far-flung relatives visiting family -- or tailgating at Cincinnati Bengals football games -- saw it in action and helped spread the word around the U.S. [source: Cornhole].

Bean bag toss is quite similar to a game once played by the Native American Blackhawk tribe in Illinois, although game players tossed pig bladders filled with dry beans instead of corn-filled fabric squares [source: Ungar].

Today, bean bag toss is the fodder of charity fundraisers, school carnivals and amateur tournaments. There's even a professional organization, the American Cornhole Organization, with tournament competition formatted much like college basketball's Final Four. The cornhole field is narrowed from a nationwide pool of 64 players to the CornyForty (top 40) to the Top Gun Twenty (top 20) before resulting in a champion named the "King of Cornhole." And, because the tournaments have a professional, rather than amateur, designation, players can win prize purses and sport pro jerseys [source: American Cornhole Organization].