Colorado Summer Fun: Bocce Ball and Badminton
Colorado Summer Fun: Bocce Ball and Badminton
Summer time is an excellent to joy fun games with the whole family. Playing outside together builds stronger bonds and can also release tension from the week.
Get outside and enjoy your outdoor space with these amusing games!
Bocce Ball
This game has been played since Roman times its most modern adaptation resembles bowling. This game is all about accuracy, strategy and a bit of luck.
Bocce is traditionally played on an oyster shell court, but can also be played on a decomposed granite, soil, or gravel, grass or asphalt court. Courts are 10-13 feet wide and 76 to 100 feet long. Bocce balls can be made of wood, metal, stone or plastic. Players are permitted to throw the ball in the air using underarm action.
A game can be played with teams of 1-4 players. Players toss the Bocce balls in an effort to get their team’s balls closest to the pallino (the target ball). The length of a game varies by region but is typically played to 11, 12 or 13 points.
Supplies
1 target ball (also called the pallina/pallino/jack)
4 Bocce balls per team (boccia)
Bocce Ball Rules
- Divide players into two teams of 1, 2 or 4 players each. Each team gets four balls, divided equally among the players.
- Start the match by one team throwing the pallino to the end of the court.
- Let the player then throw one of the larger balls, or ‘boccia,’ trying to get it as close to the pallina as possible without touching it.
- Have players from the opposing team take turns throwing their balls until one of the balls stops closer to the pallina than the starting player’s ball. If they fail to do so, the starting team tries to outdo its first attempt.
- Continue until all eight balls have been thrown. The team with the closest ball gets one point for each of its balls that are closer to the pallina than the other team’s closest ball. If equal distance, no points given.
- Play as many frames as needed until one team has a total score of 16 points.
Object of the Game
The team with the closest ball to the pallina is the only team that can score points in any frame. The scoring team receives one point for each of their balls that are closer to the pallina than the closest ball of the other team. Length of game varies, typically from 7-16 points.
Badminton
Badminton is a fun game that is easy to play and does not require many supplies. It is a racquet sport similar to tennis. Teams can be singles or doubles. Players score points by striking a ‘shuttlecock’ or ‘birdie’ with their racquet so that it passes over the net and lands in their opponents’ half of the court. Each side can hit the birdie only once before it passes over the net. A rally ends once the shuttlecock has struck the ground. The birdie is a feathered projectile whose unique aerodynamic properties cause it to fly differently than the balls used in many racquet sports. It is a lot of fun to see how far you can make the birdie go!
This is a fun game to play with your family outside in the backyard, on the beach or any open space. The whole family can take turns.
Supplies:
- Net
- Shuttlecock (birdie)
- Badminton Racquets
How to Play:
- Divide up into teams
- Team 1 hits to team 2
- Game is played to 21 points
Object of the Game:
Each team is trying to get to 21 points before the opposing team.
These are just a couple of suggestions for enjoying your outdoor space with games. Follow traditional rules or make up your own! Adaptations can easily be made to accommodate large groups and time restraints, be creative!
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