American Cornhole League Rules and Regulations 1. Equipment a

American Cornhole League Rules and Regulations

1. Equipment

a. Boards

i. Boards shall be made of wood for use in ACL sanctioned events.

The most common types are birch and oak.

ii. Boards shall have a finished coat that features a smooth texture.

iii. Boards must measure two feet wide and four feet long, with a ±1/4

inch tolerance.

iv. The hole must be 6 inches (±1/8 inch) in diameter, centered width-

wise.

1. The center of the hole must be 9 inches (±1/8 inch) from the

back edge of the board

v. Boards must have a minimum top layer thickness of ½ inch with

cross-section support, or ¾ inch without cross-section support.

vi. Boards must have a weight of at least 15 pounds.

vii. The front edge of the board should be raised between 2.5 and 3.5

inches above the ground.

viii. The top of the board should rest 12 inches above the ground (±1/4

inch).

ix. No foreign substances may be applied to a board after it has been

purchased from a manufacturer.

1. Substances include but are not limited to baby powder,

cleaning spray, and silicone sprays.

2. A dry cloth may be used to wipe down a board prior to play.

b. Bags

i. Players must supply their own bags for play in an ACL sanctioned

event.

1. Directors may provide players with bags as long as they

meet the bag criteria listed below.

ii. Regardless of division, bags used in play must be on the Approved

Bag Manufacturer List published annually.

iii. Bags must measure 6 inches wide and 6 inches long (±1/4 inch).

iv. Bags must weigh between 15.5 and 16.25 ounces.

v. Bags must have a thickness no less than 1.125 inches and no

greater than 1.5 inches.

vi. Bags may not be filled with any material other than plastic resin.

vii. After purchase from the manufacturer, bags may not be altered in

any way.

1. Alterations include repair, stitching, removing resin, adding

resin, ironing, and any other manipulation that results in a

bag becoming different that the original state of purchase.

2. Players may wash bags using fabric softener and/or

detergent and dry in a dryer.

3. Players may label their bags with initials or a name with a

permanent marker. The label should not exceed 5 in

reasonable judgment by the director should be used to

determine if the written label alters the integrity and/or

functionality of the bag.

4. Bags with holes where plastic resin can leak will not be

allowed.

viii. Bags must feature a logo or stamp from the manufacturer.

1. Faded logos will not be accepted. A player MAY NOT have

his or her bags re-stamped and reapproved by the

manufacturer. Manufacturers are not allowed to re-stamp or

re-logo a bag.

ix. Bags are not required to, but usually feature two different materials

on each side.

1. Any cloth, suede, or fabric-like material is permitted for use

on either side of a bag.

2. There are currently no banned materials for use but the

American Cornhole League reserves the right to deem a set

of bags “not permitted” if a material is found to be either:

a. Damaging to other equipment.

b. Damaging to the integrity of the game.

x. Players may dry bags but no foreign substances can be applied to

the outside of a cornhole bag.

1. Sweat is not a foreign substance unless it is applied

intentionally. Players may not intentionally apply water to a

set of bags. If a player is found to be intentionally applying

water to bags, the director reserves the right to either:

a. Force the player to switch bags mid game

b. Forfeit the player for that game

2. Players should use a cloth or towel to remove sweat from

themselves. If a player is found to be intentionally applying

sweat to a bag or an opponent’s bag, the same penalty for

applying water may be enforced.

xi. All bags in a set of four must have the same design and color for

each corresponding side on all four bags.

1. For example, a player may use a gray suede side and a red

duck cloth side for a cornhole bag. All three of the other bags

must have a red duck cloth side and a gray suede side.

2. For example, a player cannot have four bags that have a

grey suede side and alternating colors of red, blue, yellow,

and green on the duck cloth side of a bag.

3. A Player may not switch bags during a game (but can after a

single game in a series) unless a bag is unintentionally

damaged and leaking or if a bag mid-game has been

unintentionally altered such that it affects the play of game

differently for one player in comparison to the other. In the

event of a damaged bag all 4 bags in that set must be

swapped out at the end of the round for a new set of 4 bags

(intentional damage leads to a forfeit of the game)

xii. If a player finishes a tournament and has earned prize money for

his or her performance, the American Cornhole League reserves

the right to inspect all bags used by that player throughout the

tournament.

1. If any bags used by that player are inspected and found to

not meet the criteria above, the player will forfeit all of his or

her prize money for that tournament.

2. Layout

a. Court

i. A court is defined as the total area of play for a cornhole game

consisting of two boards.

b. Pitcher’s box

i. A rectangle measuring 3 feet wide by 4 feet long (length of board)

on either side of a board designates a player’s pitcher’s box.

c. Lanes

i. A lane is defined as two pitcher’s boxes directly across from one

another on two different boards on one court.

1. If a right-handed player is in the pitcher’s box forcing his right

hand to be directly over a board, the other pitcher’s box in

his or her same lane would be on the opposite board forcing

his right hand to be on the outside towards the edge of play.

2. In doubles play players on the same team will line up directly

across from each other in the same lane, not diagonally from

each other in opposite lanes.

d. Boards

i. 2 boards should be located exactly 27 feet (±1/2 inch) apart, from

front of one board to front of another.

ii. The front edges of the 2 boards must face each other.

e. Foul line

i. The foul line is designated as the front end of the board, which is

also marked by the front edge of a player’s pitcher’s box.

f. Vertical Clearance

i. For play indoors or under covering, the minimum vertical height of a

ceiling or covering is 12 feet.

g. Score tower

i. 1 score tower per court (2 sets of boards) should be used and shall

be placed a minimum of 1 foot behind one board, outside of the

field of play.

1. Score towers are not required for play.

3. Pre-game

a. Coin Toss

i. Each game begins with a coin toss, including each individual game

of a three or more game series or the ending to a double

elimination tournament where the losers bracket team wins the first

game. One player or team flips a coin and the other player or team

calls their choice of “heads” or “tails”

ii. In singles play, the winner of the coin toss will choose which lane

he or she will pitch in for the entirety of the game.

iii. In doubles play, the winner of the coin toss will either choose (not

both):

1. The lane and location of each player of that team which will

be permanent for the entirety of the game.

2. The player matchup for each board.

iv. In doubles play, the loser of the coin toss will get to decide the

outcome of the other option in the previous bullet not selected by

the winning coin toss team.

v. In all divisions, the winner of the coin toss will choose which team

or player will throw the first bag of the game.

b. Practice

i. Unless unanimously decided otherwise by all players on a court, it

is customary to complete a “down and back” practice round before

beginning a game.

1. For singles play, players will complete one round of practice

throws, walk down to the other board staying in their same

corresponding lanes, and then complete one additional

round of practice throws before the game begins.

2. For doubles play, competing players on one board will

complete one round of practice throws, and then each

player’s corresponding doubles partner will complete a

practice round throwing from the opposite board in the same

lane as their partner before the game begins.

3. In a series of more than one games played by the same

teams/players in a row, the “down and back” practice round

does not occur after the first game unless all players

unanimously agree to have the practice round

c. Bag Challenging

i. If a player or team believes that the opposing player or team is

using a set of bags that does not abide by the bag policy, they may

challenge the bags before the beginning of the game.

1. To complete a challenge, an American Cornhole League

director or board member (also referred to as an official) not

currently playing in the game must be contacted and he or

she will complete a bag inspection.

a. If the set of bags are approved, the game is set to

begin as scheduled.

b. If the set of bags are not approved, that player or

team is given a warning and the bags cannot be used

for that game. The team or player must find an

alternate set of bags to use for the remainder of a

tournament.

2. If a player or team already with a warning during one season

has the same set of bags challenged OR has a different set

of bags challenged that are, in turn, disallowed, that player

or team forfeits all remaining matches in that tournament and

is given a 1 month suspension from the American Cornhole

League

3. If a player who has already served his or her 1 month ban is

found to be playing with bags in an ACL sanctioned

tournament that do not meet the bag requirements again, he

or she will be suspended for the remainder of the season.

ii. Bags that are not challenged prior to a match are deemed

acceptable for use during that match.

1. As mentioned previously, the ACL still reserves the right to

inspect a player’s or team’s bags used in a tournament at its

conclusion. If any of the bags do not meet the bag

requirements, that player or team will forfeit the winnings for

the tournament.

4. Gameplay

a. Proper pitching technique

i. A pitch is defined as one player throwing a cornhole bag towards

the opposite board from which he or she is standing attempting to

make the bag onto the board or into the hole.

1. A player is not necessarily required to attempt to contact the

board. He or she may voluntarily choose to earn zero points

on a pitch by pitching the bag intentionally off to the side or

short of the board.

ii. A pitch of a cornhole bag may be underhand or overhand.

iii. When pitching a bag, players must release the bag before any

part of the player’s body touches the ground on or beyond the

foul line

iv. Upon release of the bag during a pitch, a player must have at least

part of one foot inside the pitcher’s box and not across the foul line

1. No part of a player’s body, except for a hand or arm, may

cross the midpoint of the board in the direction of the

opposing player’s pitch box (i.e. a player may not straddle

the board in order to attempt a shot)

v. A player may not step on or over the foul line during a pitch of a

cornhole bag.

1. In the event of a player stepping over a line, an official can

be called to the court by the opposing team.

2. Once the official is contacted, he or she will come watch the

remainder of the match.

3. If the player steps over or on the foul line during this

observation, the player will receive a warning from the

official.

4. For every pitch from that point in the game onward that the

player steps on or over the foul line, he or she will have the

bag corresponding to that pitch forfeited.

a. A forfeited bag will be removed from the area of play

during that round by the official with as little

disturbance to play as possible.

i. If the forfeited bag has already caused bags in

play to move, the player or team opposing the

player who pitched the forfeited bag decides to

either (not both):

1. Have an official place the moved bags

back in their original location as best as

possible per instructions by both teams.

2. Accept the new bags’ locations and

proceed through the remainder of the

round.

b. Any scoring that is unavoidable when removing the

bag from play will still count.

b. Sequence of Play

i. Rounds

1. A round is defined as a complete sequence of 8 bags thrown

by two players (4 each) towards one board.

2. Scoring is calculated at the conclusion of each round.

3. A Player may adjust the board to which he or she is pitching

only before a round if it is misaligned or not at the correct

distance.

a. A player may adjust the board from which he or she is

pitching at any point as long as it does not disrupt the

opposing players pitch, in which case that player

would have his or her next bag forfeited.

ii. Pitch Sequence

1. A game begins with a round in which the winner of the coin

toss chooses who pitches the first bag.

2. The opposing player at the same board in the opposite lane

then pitches his or her first bag.

3. Pitching alternates until all 8 bags (4 by each player) have

been pitched which concludes the round.

4. For singles play, the players will then walk to the other

board, remaining in their designated lane, and complete

another round of pitching.

5. For doubles play, the two players’ partners at the opposite

board will then complete a round of pitching.

6. Play continues until a score of at least 21 points is achieved

by one team at the conclusion of a round.

a. A player or team does not have to win by a minimum

of two points.

b. A player or team is not penalized for achieving a

score over 21 points, the game is finished and that

player or team wins the game.

7. If a player pitches in an incorrect sequence, the bag that is

incorrectly pitched is forfeited.

a. Then, to reestablish the correct sequence of pitching,

the opposing player will pitch two consecutive bags.

b. If a player pitches in an incorrect sequence and it is

not called/identified immediately, then the round

finishes out as it started (which is the incorrect

sequence). If that particular round finishes in a

wash/push, then next round is then played in the

CORRECT sequence as it was supposed to be

played previously. If that round finishes with one team

scoring points, that team will start the next round.

8. If a player refuses to finish a game, that player will forfeit the

game by a score of 21-0.

9. If one partner of a doubles team cannot finish the match for

any reason that game will be forfeited by the team that could

not finish by a score of 21-0.

iii. Timing

1. Each player will have 20 seconds to pitch his or her bag from

the moment that the opposing player’s bag comes to rest on

the other end.

a. A player may request that the “pitch clock” be

enforced by having an ACL official come to the board

and enforce the rule. If a player calls for an ACL

official to do this, then the pitch clock is enforced for

BOTH players effective immediately.

b. An ACL official may ALSO choose to enforce the shot

clock if they feel it is absolutely necessary.

c. If a player has the first pitch in a round, they will have

45 seconds from when the last bag from the previous

round comes to rest on that side of play for doubles

and 1 minute for singles play.

d. Failure to pitch a bag in time results in loss of bag.

2. Bags must not be picked up while still moving. Players can

pick up bags 3 seconds after the bag comes to a complete

stop.

3. In singles play, each player is awarded (2) 90 second

timeouts. A player may only call a timeout when he or she

has the next bag to throw (i.e. no “icing” the opposing

player).

a. During a timeout, a player may leave the pitcher’s box

to view the other board.

b. The opposing player who did not call the timeout may

also leave the pitcher’s box in order to view the other

board.

c. Touching of bags is prohibited. If a player (or a

player’s teammate) touches a bag that is in play

during the timeout (or during play outside of a timeout

before the round is complete), the round immediately

ends and all bags are transitioned to the next round

at the other board.

i. In addition, if the team that touched the bags

still has just 1 bag left and their opponent has 0

bags remaining, that bag is dead and the round

is ended and scored just like any cornhole

round.

ii. If the opposing team of the team who touched

the bags still has a bag left then the round is

over and that team will earn a valued score of

12 for the round regardless of the results of the

round.

iii. The team that touched the bags will receive a

valued score totaling the points scored only in

the hole for that round for that team prior to the

touching.

iv. For example, Team A has two bags in the hole

and one bag on the board with one bag left yet

to throw. Team B has one bag in the hole and

two bags on the board with one bag left yet to

throw. Team A touches the bags on the board

and moves them from their original place.

Team A receives a valued score of 6 for the

round for the two bags in the hole and Team B

receives a valued score of 12 for the round.

The round is over and Team B earns 6 total

points towards the overall score using

cancellation scoring.

v. If all bags are believed to have been thrown

and both teams/players clear the board of bags

and proceed to start the next round only to find

that a single bag has not yet been thrown, the

round is still over and the points are scored as

the round finished. The single bag leftover is

simply forfeited.

vi. If a player stomps, jumps, or completes

another action that causes bags to fall into the

hole in the middle of a round, the same

touching rules are applied.

d. Rules for touching the board

i. In most cases touching the board will not

impact the bags, however, if bags are impacted

then the same rule is in effect as if you touched

the bags (see rules Timing - 3ci and 3cii

above)

ii. Adjusting a board that players are throwing

towards is only acceptable in between rounds.

If a board is moved in the middle of a round,

rule 4.b.3.iii.d.i (directly previous to this rule) is

followed. Boards from which a player is playing

may be adjusted at any time as long as it is not

during an opponent’s throw. The penalty for

adjusting the board during an opponent's throw

is the forfeiting of the next bag.

e. If a player crosses the foul line prior to pitching a bag

attempting to get closer to the opposing board for

viewing purposes, it is inferred that that player is

choosing to take a timeout.

f. Timeouts taken in excess of the allowed timeouts will

lead to that player or team forfeiting all remaining

bags during that round.

4. In doubles play, each team is awarded (1) 90 second

timeout. A player may only call a timeout when he or she has

the next bag to throw (i.e. no “icing” the opposing player).

Partners may not call timeouts during their partner’s throw.

a. Same timeout rules apply as above

c. Scoring

i. Scoring is always completed at the end of a round, not during.

ii. A bag lying on top of the board at the end of a round is valued at 1

point.

1. Bags “hanging” in the hole are valued at 1 point.

2. If a bag is pinned by another bag and is hanging off the side

of the board touching either the ground, board support

brace, or board legs, the pinned bag is immediately deemed

dead. An official must be called to remove the pinned bag. If

the other bag remains on the board after the official has

removed the pinned bag, the bag will count as 1 point. If the

other bag also falls off the board when the pinned bag is

removed by the official, the bag counts as 0 points.

iii. A bag through the hole at the end of a round is valued at 3 points.

iv. A bag that neither went through the hole nor is lying on top of the

board at the end of the round is valued at 0 points.

1. Bags that are lying on top of the front edge of the board but

are touching the ground are valued at 0 points.

2. Bags that touched the ground or any other surface before

touching the board or going into the hole are valued at 0

points and must be removed from the board by an official.

a. If this bag causes other bags on the board to move,

the final resting places of the bags in play will count.

v. All scoring for a round features cancellation.

1. For example, Player A pitches 3 bags in the hole and 1 bag

on the board for a total of 10 points. Player B pitches 2 bags

in the hole and 2 bags on the board for a total of 8 points.

Player A will then earn 2 points (10-8=2) towards his or her

2. overall score (or team’s score for doubles play).

vi. In some instances, the bags in the hole will stack on top of each

other until they reach the threshold of the hole. In this instance, a

player may ask an official or spectator to “sweep” the bags from

under the hole.

1. If a player throws a bag and it “hangs” in the hole but is

touching a bag in the hole, an official must come and, if at all

possible, “sweep” the bags in the hole without disturbing or

touching the hanging bag. If an official is not present, an

unbiased spectator must complete the sweep.

a. If the hanging bag does not fall into the hole after a

correct “sweep”, the bag is valued at 1 point.

b. If the hanging bag unavoidably falls into the hole after

a correct “sweep” the bag is valued at 3 points.

vii. Players must wait 3 seconds after a bag comes to a stop on the

board before the players may pick up a bag at the end of the round.

If a bag is slick enough that it begins to slide down the board,

players must wait for that bag to come to a complete stop before

proceeding with a round.

1. Players may not jump or complete other actions that cause

vibrations of the cornhole board during the 3 second waiting

period. Any action like this will waive the 3 second waiting

period.

d. Player Interaction/player conduct

i. Players may not make contact with each other during gameplay

with the intent to disrupt pitching motions.

1. If a player disrupts another player’s pitch with obvious intent,

an official reserves the right to disqualify a player for that

game resulting in a forfeit.

ii. Players may not interfere with an opponent’s bag during its flight

path.

1. If a player interferes with the flight of a bag, the rest of that

player’s bags are forfeited for the remainder of the round and

the pitching player gets to re-pitch the bag.

a. If bags in play are moved as a result of the interfered

bag, see section IV.b.iii.2.b for how to proceed.

iii. Talking, yelling, and movement that is distracting to the opposing

team is not permitted.

1. The ACL and its officials reserve the right to deem any

behavior inappropriate if it harms the integrity of the game.

2. Officials may award warnings to any players who display

inappropriate behavior.

3. If a player continues to display inappropriate behavior during

a tournament after receiving a warning from an official, the

official reserves the right to forfeit the remaining bags of a

player for a round/next round OR disqualify the player for the

remainder of the game/tournament.

iv. Coaching is not permitted during a match by Spectators.

1. Spectators standing on the opposite side of the board may

not comment on specific bag situations.

2. Spectators may not give specific strategic advice to a player

during a game. This includes spectators that may be in the

ear of a player on the same side of the board during a

game.The ACL Directors and League may punish spectators

and players engaged in coaching however they see fit.

v. Player conduct

1. The ACL and its officials reserve the right to deem any

behavior inappropriate if it harms the integrity of the game or

the reputation of the ACL.

2. Spectators may encourage players with general statements

like “push the bags in” or “drag the bags in” or “nice block” as

long as it is not intended as coaching the player.

3. In Doubles and other Team Events, teammates may coach

players as long as they are clearly identifiable and do not

interfere with the timing of play.

4. Officials may award warnings to any players who display

inappropriate behavior including but not limited to negative

references toward the ACL, throwing bags in anger, cussing,

fighting, inappropriate gestures and comments disparaging

the ACL, its staff, sponsors, players and fans.

5. If a player continues to display inappropriate behavior during

a tournament, on social media or in the presence of

sponsors after receiving a warning from an official, the

official reserves the right to disqualify the player for the

remainder of the tournament and/or ban them from playing in

the ACL for the entire season.

6. Celebrations after throws will happen. Excessive

celebrations that cause major delays are not acceptable. If a

player celebrates a shot, the shot clock for the opponent will

begin when the appropriate celebration by the player ends.

Excessive celebrations may lead to disciplinary actions as

outlined in the ACL Player and Fan Code of Conduct.

Updated 11/13/2019