Cornhole Doubles with Cancellation Scoring
The popular backyard and beach game of tossing bean bags onto a slanted board with a hole, played in doubles with cancellation scoring: only the difference in each round counts. Students work on accuracy, controlling force and running a tournament on their own.
How to play
- Set up 6 pairs of boards facing each other 27 ft apart (front edge to front edge); if you do not have boards, a slanted box with a 6-inch hole works.
- Make doubles teams: each team has one player at each end, and the two opponents at the same end alternate tossing 4 bags each.
- Teach the underhand toss (3 min): step forward with the opposite leg, swing the arm like a pendulum and release the bag flat and spinning so it does not bounce.
- Scoring: a bag in the hole is 3 points and a bag on the board is 1; the two scores cancel out and only the difference counts (if one scores 5 and the other 3, the first earns 2).
- Rounds alternate from one end to the other; the first team to 21, or the team leading after 7 minutes, wins.
- Ladder rotation: winners move up a court and losers move down; play 3 games.
Rules
- Always toss from behind the front edge of the board and from beside it.
- Nobody walks toward the board until all 8 bags in the round have been tossed.
- The players at each end count and agree on the score together.
Variations
Easier
Place the boards 20 ft apart and skip cancellation scoring.
Standard
Boards at 27 ft, doubles to 21 with cancellation scoring.
Harder
A team that goes over 21 drops back to 15, so you must hit exactly 21.
Adaptations
- Limited mobility: toss from a chair with the foul line moved up about 3 ft.
- Visual impairment: a partner claps next to the hole before each toss as a sound target.
- Shyness: the doubles format gives the student a fixed teammate at the far end to talk scores with.
Learning goals
- Control force and trajectory in an accuracy throw.
- Apply a scoring system honestly and independently.
- Learn an active game to play with family or friends.
Equipment for a class of 25
- cornhole boards: 12
- bean bags: 48
- tape measure: 1
Teacher tip
Homemade fabric bags filled with rice or dried beans work fine; aim for about 14 oz each. Let students run the court ladder themselves, since it is great practice in organizing a tournament.
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