DC Bocce League Rules

Indoor Bocce:  click here to download the official Rule Book and check out the bocce FAQs below.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who Goes First?
In the regular season, you can flip a coin or play rocks, paper, scissors to see who goes first.  The winner gets to throw the pallina out first.  In the playoffs, the highest seeded team goes first.  Ball color is determined by your t-shirt color (either RED or GREEN).

How long is a game?
A game lasts until one team reaches 16 points, or 45 minutes have past from the designated start time—whichever comes first.  If your game is going slowly, we will enforce the 45 minute time limit.  A game is considered official once one team reaches 7 points.

How do I know where I play?
The schedule for each week is posted on our Schedule page and available to download here.  In it you will see court colors listed next to your game (red, green, blue, orange, brown, pink, purple, black).  Each court is painted one of those colors so your playing location will change from week to week.  The first two colors listed (red and green) are located in the basement of the Pour House and the other 6 are at the American Legion.

Can I step inside the courts?
No.  For indoor play you are not allowed to stand inside of the court. All throws must take place outside of the back wall.  Only team captains are allowed to enter the court for measurement disputes.

What happens if a balls goes outside of the court?
Any ball that leaves the court is considered dead and out of play.  This also applies to balls that have hit the ceiling, which are to be removed from play once all ball movement stops.  Any live ball that is contacted by a dead ball must be allowed to roll until it rests and is then to remain in its new location.

What happens if the palina gets knocked out of bounds?
If the pallina gets knocked out then you restart the entire frame.  The team that threw the palina out to start that frame will once again throw the pallina. You play the new frame from the opposite end.  This also applies if the pallina is knocked back on the starting half of the court but does not apply if it is knocked against the far wall or far fault line.

What happens when the other team does not show up?
A team has 15 minutes past the start time to show up.  If they show up, you will not recieve any extra time to play and must complete your game in the remaining 30 minutes.  If they do not show up, the result is a forfeit.  The team that shows up will win with a score of 16-0.

How close can the palina be to the side or the back?
The palina must go past the midway line and be within 1 foot of the back wall.  There is no restrictions on how close it can be to the side wall.

What happens when two balls are identically spaced from the pallina?
If after the captains measure you still cannot tell which ball is closer, the frame restarts from the opposite end with the same team throwing out the pallina.