Cornhole Setup

Cornhole distance & setup calculator

Front edge to front edge

27ft

Official ACL and ACO — both publish 27ft front edge to front edge (ACL adds a ±1/2in tolerance).

27ft33ft 6in hole to hole
Overhead view, drawn to scale. The dashed band is the 8ft-wide court the ACO specifies; the vertical lines are the foul lines, which both bodies place at the board’s front edge.
Units
Who is playing?

Every adult tournament, and the default for backyard play.

Will it fit? (optional)
Board and bag specification
Board length3ft 11.5in – 4ft 0.25in
Board width1ft 11.5in – 2ft 0.25in
Hole diameter5.875in – 6.125in
Hole centre from back edge8.875in – 9.125in
Front edge height2.5in – 4in
Back edge height11.5in – 1ft 0.5in
Bag, laid flat6in square
Bag weight15.5oz – 16.5oz

Where the two governing bodies differ, the range above covers both. A front edge of 3–3.5in is legal under the ACL and the ACO at once. Full detail on the board dimensions page.

  • Hole to hole33ft 6inNot the same as the pitching distance — the holes sit further apart.
  • Boards end to end35ftThe ground the two boards themselves take up.
  • Space to allow40ft × 8ftIncludes room to stand and pitch behind each board.

How far apart are cornhole boards?

Cornhole boards are placed 27 feet apart, measured from the front edge of one board to the front edge of the other. Both governing bodies publish the same figure: the American Cornhole League specifies 27 feet with a half-inch tolerance, and the American Cornhole Organization states that boards “are placed 27 feet from front edge to front edge”. It is the only pitching distance either body publishes. At the regulation distance the two holes end up 33 feet 6 inches apart, and a full court needs about 40 feet by 8 feet.

The calculator above works that out for whatever distance you choose and draws it to scale, so you can see the court before you measure it. Tell it how long your garden actually is and it will tell you whether regulation fits, or the longest pitch that does. Every figure it uses comes from the two governing bodies’ own published rules, and where they disagree, both numbers are shown — see board dimensions for where that happens and why it matters.

Setting up and scoring a game

  1. Pick who is playing

    Regulation and adult play is 27 feet, front edge to front edge — the only distance either governing body publishes. The shorter distances for children and small gardens are recreational practice, and the calculator labels them as such rather than dressing them up as official.

  2. Check it against your space

    Type in the length of the run you actually have. The calculator tells you whether the boards fit, whether you will have room to stand, and the longest pitch your space will take.

  3. Measure from the front edges

    The 27 feet is between the two low ends that face each other — not hole to hole and not back edge to back edge. Measuring from the raised end adds 8 feet and is the most common setup mistake.

  4. Pitch four bags each, alternating

    A bag through the hole is 3 points and a bag left on the board is 1. A bag touching the ground scores nothing, even if it is also touching the board.

  5. Let the scorekeeper do the cancellation

    Tap in what each side landed and the scorekeeper subtracts one from the other, tracks the running total, and works out who pitches first in the next frame. First to 21 or more wins.

The rule most sites get wrong

Cornhole is played to 21 or more points, and neither governing body uses a bust rule or requires winning by two. The ACO rule sheet says games are played to “21 or more points. (no bust)”, and the ACL states that a player or team “is not penalized for achieving a score over 21 points”. If you are on 19 and win a frame by 4, you finish on 23 and you have won.

Busting back to 15 and win-by-two are popular and perfectly good house rules — they are simply not official, and a lot of pages present them as though they were. The scorekeeper here supports both as switches, off by default, and labelled as house rules wherever they appear. The full explanation, with worked examples of cancellation scoring, is on its own page.

Common questions

How far apart do cornhole boards go?

Twenty-seven feet, measured from the front edge of one board to the front edge of the other. Both the American Cornhole League and the American Cornhole Organization publish this figure, and it is the only pitching distance either of them publishes. 21 feet is the usual shortened distance for children and small gardens, but no governing body actually publishes it.

How much space do I need to set up cornhole?

About 40 feet long by 8 feet wide, which is the court the ACO publishes. The two boards alone take up 35 feet at regulation distance — the rest is standing room. The calculator above will take the length you actually have and tell you the longest pitch that fits it.

What is cancellation scoring?

Each side counts 3 points for every bag through the hole and 1 for every bag on the board, and then the smaller total is subtracted from the larger. Only the difference is awarded, and only to the higher side, so at most one side scores in any frame.

Do you have to hit exactly 21 to win at cornhole?

No. Both governing bodies play to 21 or more points with no bust rule. The ACO rule sheet says games are played to "21 or more points (no bust)", and the ACL states a team is not penalised for scoring over 21. Busting back to 15 is a house rule.

Is this scorekeeper free, and does it need an account?

It is free and there is no account, no download and no app. The match is stored in your own browser, so it survives a locked phone or a reloaded page, and it never leaves your device.

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