Bocce is a traditional outdoor game of bowls. It is of Roman origin and was originally played on a variety of different length surfaces such as grass, sand or clay.

Equipment Supplied: A set of 8 large sized 100mm Bocce Balls (4 for each side), Pallino, Rules and Canvas Carry Bag. Note that Bocce Balls have no ‘Bias’ unlike British Lawn or Crown Bowls, whilst the Pallino is a smaller target Ball equivalent to the Jack used in the British game of Bowls.

Players: A maximum of eight players. Bocce is played one against one or by two teams with 2 or 4 players per side. If six players are available it’s not a problem to play 3 a side with one team member playing the 4th ball.

Play Area: For casual use you can play on virtually any surface available to hand such as grass, sand or clay. The play area is known as a court and the size will usually depend on the abilities of those playing; the supplier of our Bocce sets has recommended a grass court area of 60ft x 10ft. Note that surrounding some courts is a wooden board of about the height of the balls and this gives the opportunity of rebound shots to be played.

One meter into the court a foul line is marked and this is what the players must stand behind when releasing the ball. You may also want to mark a line across the centre of the court as the Pallino ball when released should pass into the far half of the court.

How to play, brief details of – For the rules given here we are assuming a casual game with two teams of up to 4 players per side. The first team to bowl is decided by a toss of the coin or by another similar method.

The first team to bowl will now roll the Pallino to within the far half of the court. The same player then rolls one of his Bowls with the aim of it landing as close as possible to the Pallino. Note that the Balls are played underarm and are bowled (rolled) or can even be lofted but must first contact the court before touching the Pallino or any other ball.

It is now the opposition teams turn and they will Bowl until such time as they have a Ball closer to the Pallino than that of the starting team. At that point play reverts back again to the starting team. Play continues in the same vein until both times have used their four balls and the first frame is now concluded. The next frame is played by the scoring team from the opposite end of the court.

Scoring – Only one team can score and that is the team that at the end of the frame has one or more balls closer to the Pallino than the opposition. For each ball closer to the Pallino 1 point is scored. A maximum of 4 points can therefore be scored in any one frame. A game is concluded by the first team to reach 12 points. A match can be 3 or 5 games.

A few tips –.

Tip 1: Think about hitting the opposition ball and moving it further away from the Pallino.

Tip 2: By aiming to bowl close to the front of the Pallino you may hinder the opposition’s chances of scoring.

Tip 3: Consider trying to hit the Pallino with the aim of moving it closer to your team’s balls or away from the opposition’s balls.

Finally we hope you enjoy the game as much as those Romans must have done.