If you’re looking for an outdoor activity to enjoy while on vacation, bocce ball is one of my favorite games. It’s a fun and social pastime that’s perfect for the whole family. This game is typically played on a hard, level surface, but have you ever thought about taking it to the beach?
Bocce is a versatile game that can be played on a variety of surfaces, but is it possible to play on the sand? In this article, I’ll explore the ups and downs of playing bocce ball on the beach.
Can You Play Bocce Ball On The Beach?
You can definitely play a version of bocce ball on the beach, but the game usually needs to be adapted a bit to the beach conditions, and those beach conditions can vary a lot. It’s one of my favorite beach games, but let’s talk through some of the factors to consider.
Features of a Typical Bocce Court Surface
To think through how bocce ball can be played on the beach, first consider how a typical standard bocce court surface works. The game is played on a long, rectangular court that is made up of a hard, compacted surface like decomposed gravel, clay, or asphalt. The surface is smooth, level, and free of any obstacles that could disrupt gameplay. This ensures consistency in the way the ball rolls down the court.
A regular bocce court also has defined boundaries (the sideboards and endboards) that help contain balls after they’ve been rolled.
What’s Different About Beach Conditions
Beach conditions are clearly different than regular bocce ball courts
First, the sand can be soft and uneven, which makes it much more difficult to get the ball to roll straight or to the desired distance. If the sand is super soft, the ball may just plop down where it lands and may not really roll at all.
Slope is also a factor, since a normal bocce court is flat and level but most beaches slope down toward the water.
Finally, unless you brought along some lumber and tools, you obviously won’t have the typical sideboards and end boards to define the edges of the court and help contain the bocce balls.
How Does Bocce Ball Work On a Beach
So, how does bocce ball work on a beach? It may take some experimenting and adjustments to your game, but bocce can be played on the beach.
The most important thing is to be flexible and adaptable, and try your best to ensure that the two teams are clear on any rules or special boundaries where adjustments are needed from the standard rules of bocce.
Tips for Adapting Bocce Ball for Beach Play
Tips for adapting bocce ball for the beach include using a lighter ball, as beach sand can be more challenging to work with. Switching to a smaller set of balls might also be an option.
Another tip is to adjust your throwing style—throwing the ball in a more lofted way can help overcome the inconsistencies of the sand.
If you’re playing with regular heavy (and hard) bocce balls, be extra mindful of those around you as someone could easily wander into your playing area on a shared beach.
If you’re playing with lighter beach bocce balls, be mindful of the wind, as well. If you’re playing in strong gusts or an onshore breeze, adjust your aim and throw accordingly.
Dealing with soft sand
One solution is to pack down the sand to create a more compact surface. This can be done with a rake or a flat shovel, or even by scooping the softest surface sand out of the way using your foot like a rake. After that you could also walk back and forth on the playing area to further compact it and enable the balls to roll further on it.
Using beach bocce balls
Another option to deal with soft sand is to play close to the water, since the sand right along the water line is usually much more solid and compacted from the waves and the retained moisture of the ocean water. This usually only works well if you have minimal slope, calm ocean conditions, and you are using beach bocce balls that will float so you can easily find and grab them when they do end up in the water (if you play this close to the water line, they will end up in the waves eventually).
Dealing with slope
Dealing with slope can be a bit trickier. Beaches vary a lot with some being almost flat and others having a significant downward slope toward the water.
If you’re on a beach with a steeper slope a couple of options to consider are:
Option 1: Keep your direction of play uphill (i.e. throwing bocce balls away from the water and perpendicular to the waterline). This makes it less likely that balls will accidentally keep rolling downslope into the ocean, and also helps avoid the issue of a sideways cross slope that would typically occur on a beach if you were playing parallel to the waterline.
Option 2: Shift over enough sand to create a roughly level playing area. If the slope isn’t too steep, 20 minutes with a flat edged shovel can be enough to scoop some sand from the uphill side and pile it up on the downhill side to create a level sand playing area.
Creating boundaries
You can bring a set of boundary markers as shown in the photo below to create a clear perimeter for the playing area. However, since it just sits on top of the sand it won’t stop balls from rolling out of bounds when someone throws inaccurately.
My personal favorite way to create boundaries is to just dig a small shallow trench around the court to define the playing area, ideally with a shovel but it can also be done by dragging your foot in the sand and piling the extra sand outside the trench and out of the playing area. With this approach, if you roll to hard there’s a good chance the ball will just roll into the boundary trench and not go too far out of the way.
Recommended Beach Bocce Rules
Standard regulation bocce has quite a few rules that can be difficult to explain or enforce in a beach environment, especially if there are young, impatient kids joining in on the game.
I understand the rules below aren’t the official rules of regulation bocce (you can learn the official rules here). However, I grew up playing like this and I find it helpful to follow these simplified bocce rules for beach play.
Simplified rules for beach bocce
1) Ensure the court boundaries and foul line are clearly marked. (Players must throw the ball from behind the foul line)
– any ball thrown after player steps beyond the foul line doesn’t count
– any ball that lands (or is knocked) out of bounds doesn’t count
– it’s ok if a ball hits another ball and moves (it including the pallino), this is part of the game
2) Divide into two teams and use a coin toss to determine which team throws first
3) First team throws the pallino (also called target ball)
4) The same team throws the first bocce ball, getting as close as they can to the pallino
5) Second team throws their first bocce ball
6) Continue alternating turns until both teams have thrown all the balls
7) The first frame (or game) is completed once all balls are thrown. The winning team is the one with the ball closest to the pallino, and they get a point for every ball closer to the pallino than the nearest ball of the opposing team
8) Continue playing additional games as long as you’re having fun, but traditionally the match is over when one team reaches 12 points (added up across games)
Conclusion
Playing bocce ball on the beach can be a fun and unique way to enjoy a new beach game. While the playing surface acts a lot different than playing on a regular court, it can be just as much fun with some simple adaptations, an understanding of the beach conditions, and a flexible attitude.
By following these tips, you can still experience the fun and social aspect of bocce ball while at the beach. So, pack your ball set and head to the shore to give it a try!
