Bocce (also spelled bocci or boccie, and commonly called bocce ball) is an Italian lawn bowling game closely related to French petanque and English bowls, all descended from ball games of the Roman Empire. Two sides take turns rolling or lobbing their balls toward a small target ball called the pallino, trying to finish closest to it. Only the side with the closest ball scores in a frame, and play continues frame after frame until one side reaches the agreed winning total.

How to Play Bocce Ball

Overview

Bocce is a lawn bowling game for two sides. A side can be a single player, a pair, or a team of up to four. Each side has four bocce balls (eight total, usually one color per side) plus one small target ball called the pallino (also called the jack or boccino). Sides alternate rolling balls toward the pallino, and the side finishing with the ball(s) closest to it scores points. Play repeats frame after frame until one side reaches the agreed winning total.

Equipment

• 8 bocce balls (about 3.9-4.5 inches / 100-115 mm in diameter), four of each color, four assigned to each side.

• 1 pallino (the small target ball, roughly 1.4-2.4 inches), usually white.

• An open lawn, a beach, or a dedicated bocce court (regulation courts run up to roughly 27.5 m long and 2.5-4 m wide; backyard play needs no fixed court).

• A tape measure for resolving close calls.

Sides and Formats

• Singles: one player per side, each player rolling all four of that side's balls.

• Doubles: two players per side, each rolling two balls.

• Teams: three or four players per side, splitting the four balls (in some four-player formats each player throws one ball; rules vary by league).

Starting a Frame

1. A coin toss (or other agreement) decides which side goes first.

2. The first side tosses the pallino to a fair distance, typically past the center of the playing area and within bounds.

3. The same side that threw the pallino rolls the first bocce ball, trying to finish close to the pallino without (in most rules) hitting it out.

Throwing Order ('Nearest Ball' Rule)

• After the first side's opening ball, the side that is NOT closest to the pallino throws next, and keeps throwing until it either gets a ball closer than the opponent's best ball or runs out of balls.

• Then the other side throws. Play passes back and forth based on who is currently farther from the pallino.

• Players may roll gently to nestle near the pallino, lob to drop a ball in, or throw hard (a 'raffa' / 'spock') to knock an opponent's ball away or move the pallino.

• A frame ends when both sides have thrown all four of their balls.

Scoring a Frame

• Only one side scores per frame - the side whose ball is closest to the pallino.

• That side earns 1 point for every one of its balls that is closer to the pallino than the opponent's single closest ball. So a side can score 1, 2, 3, or 4 points in a frame.

• A ball touching the pallino (a 'kiss', or baci) is awarded 2 points under the bocce.org Official Rules and many recreational rule sets.

• If the two sides' closest balls are exactly equal distance from the pallino, those balls cancel and no points are awarded for them; if no side has a clear closest ball the frame can end scoreless.

Winning the Game

• After scoring, the side that won the frame throws the pallino to start the next one.

• The game ends when a side reaches the agreed winning total. This varies widely by league and tradition - commonly 12, 15, or 16 points; Wikipedia notes games typically run from 7 to 13 points, the bocce.org Official Rules (Collegium Cosmicum Ad Buxeas) play to 9 points (15 in international play), and many social leagues play to 11 or 15 (sometimes 'win by 2'). Agree on the target before you start.

Point accumulation to a target. Each frame, only the closest side scores (1 point per ball closer than the opponent's closest, up to 4; a kiss ball is worth 2 under many federation rules). First side to the agreed winning total (commonly 12, 15, or 16) wins.

The points_to_win knob is a match param on this variant's ruleset and is param-only (no per-side metric needed). total_points is the authoritative recorded outcome; frames_won is a diagnostic count metric and does NOT sum to total_points (a side can win a frame by 1 point while taking many points in another), so no component or derived-sum metric is modeled. The kiss/baci 2-point award is folded into total_points and is not separately recorded.