Bocce is a great way for the kids to pass some time over summer break. Even if you don't have an official bocce ball set, you can replace the standard balls with things you may already have in the garage like baseballs, golf balls, or tennis balls. It's best to have one ball that is different than the other balls... so a golf ball and 8 tennis balls would do the trick.
We met up with Suzanne Larson, one of the founders of Game On Omaha, to learn the rules at Turner Park in Midtown Crossing.
Break up your group of 2-8 people into two teams. Have the first player toss out the smaller ball, called the pallino. This is what both teams will aim for with their bocce balls. The player who threw the pallino will then toss their first ball, trying to get it as close as possible to the pallino. A member from the other team will then toss one of their balls, trying to get even closer.
Once each team has thrown their first ball, the throwing order is determined by who has the closest ball to the target ball. If Team A is currently closest, Team B will continue to throw until they are closest. If that team still isn't closest by the time they use all 4 balls, the other team then throws the rest of their balls. Once each team has thrown all 4 bocce balls, it's time to score that round.
If one of Team A's balls is closest to the pallino, they get one point. If the next closest ball is also their ball, they get a second point. In fact a team can get up to 4 points in one round if all of their balls are closer to the pallino than any of the other team's balls.
Continue to play more rounds until a team reaches whatever number of points you choose to play up to.
While there are flat-surface courts around the city, you can also play on grass in any park or backyard.
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