Lawn Bowl Games

Lawn bowling is a popular outdoor game, also referred to as bocce bowl, played by attempting to toss a ball, or series of balls, as close to a target item or zone as possible. There are multiple variations on lawn bowling, which differ based on the target being thrown at, which each provide their own enjoyable experience.

  1. Traditional Lawn Bowling

    • One of the players tosses the jack, the target ball, into the designated play area, which is a 5-meter-long rectangle. This player then tosses a ball at the target, followed by a ball from the opposition. After each team has thrown, the next ball is thrown by the team which does not have the ball nearest the jack. After all balls are thrown, the team closest to the jack scores a point for each ball inside their opponent's best ball.

    Bowl/Throw

    • Players take turns playing a ball, and within their plays alternate throws between rolls along the ground and throws that travel toward the target through the air. Each ball successfully rolled within 0.7 meters of the target ball scores a point, as does any thrown ball which knocks a scoring ball from the scoring circle. Two points are scored for a throw that knocks an opponent's ball out and remains in the scoring area itself. The player who scores the most in eight rounds of play wins.

    Precision Throwing

    • Players take turns throwing at 11 different targets, located in 11 different scoring zones. Some zones also feature obstacle balls that block the view of the target. A single throw is given at each zone, with points equal to the zone number awarded for contacting the target ball. The location of the targets and obstacles can be found at the Bocce Bowls link in the references section.

    Bocce Ball

    • Bocce ball features a target ball, often substantially smaller and lighter than the balls being player by the throwers, which is tossed out by one of the players, usually the last one to score points. Players then take turns throwing their balls at the target, with points scored for each ball closer to the target than the nearest ball of any opponents. This is similar to lawn bowling, however, there are no mandatory throwing zones, and players alternate throws regardless of who has the closest ball.