How to Bocce!
What's the goal?
Plainly put — you want to get the big balls as close to the little ball as possible. The small metal ball is the target. It's called the palhinhã (paulheenya).
How do teams take turns?
There are two teams, red team and green team, with 6 balls per team. At the start of the frame, you flip a coin to determine which team goes first.
The first team then throws out the palhinhã, the first ball. When you throw, you must stand on or behind the first white line. The palhinhã must make it at least halfway down the bocce court but cannot hit the back board. If you throw it too short or hit the back board, the other team gets to re-throw the palhinhã.
The turn proceeds with whichever team is furthest from the palhinhã continuing to throw (so, if your ball is closest to the palhinhã, your team is not throwing). You continue to throw until you get your ball closer to the palhinhã than the other team or you run out of bocce balls. Once all the balls have been played, you score the frame.
What if a red or green ball hits the boundary?
If your ball hits the back board, it's out, unless it hits another ball or the palhinhã before hitting the back board. (Remove the ball from the court if it hits the back board to help keep track of which balls are out of play.) The side boards are fair game!
How is the game scored?
A team earns one point per ball that is closer to the palhinhã than the other team’s closest ball. For example, if the red team has 2 red balls closer than any green ball, red team gets 2 points, green team gets 0 points. The winning team gets to throw the palhinhã out the following frame.
Have Fun & Good Luck!
Fun Fact!
The traditional Italian spelling for the small target ball is “Pallino”, however the Wood Family has (by unanimous consent) adopted the traditional Portugese spelling, ‘Palhinhã’.
Want to learn more?