One of the ultimate dad beach games is Beach Bocce Ball. It’s a game that requires zero athletic ability, yet keeps Dad’s, Uncles, and Grand-Dads occupied for hours on the beach.

Bocce Ball

Bocce Ball is a game that can be played between two players, or two teams.  The teams can consist of two, three or four players on each team.

The game, or more precisely the match, is started by one of the teams tossing a smaller ball, called the jack.  The team that threw the jack tosses their bocce ball first.  Once the first team has tossed their first bocce ball, the other team can toss their first bocce ball.  From that point on, it’s bocce ball game on!

Whichever bocce ball landed furthest from the jack, that team will throw the rest of their remaining bocce balls.  Once all bocce balls have been tossed by Team One, Team Two will now toss their bocce balls at the jack.

The object of bocce ball is to get your teams bocce balls closest to the jack.  By tossing second, your team kind of has home field advantage – or should we say home beach advantage.

By tossing second, your team now has the advantage of seeing where Team One tossed their bocce balls and you can plan your attack strategy from there.

The team with the closest bocce ball to the jack, without touching the jack, is the only team that can score points in any frame. The scoring team receives one point for each of their bocce balls that are closer to the jack than the closest ball of the other team. Whichever team wins the frame, tosses the jack in the next frame.  First team to thirteen wins.

Of course, strategy is involved when playing Beach Bocce Ball.  Consider where on the beach you are playing: hard sand vs. soft sand.  When playing on hard sand, the ball will roll, so you’ll have to adjust accordingly.  A good back spin will be needed, or be sure to toss your ball short of the jack to take into account the role factor.

When playing in the soft sand, the likelihood of a roll is pretty remote.  You will need to aim your toss to be as precise to the jack as possible.  You may want to consider your opponents weakness when deciding on playing on the hard-sand or soft-sand.

For a relatively simple game, there is quite a bit of planning and strategy involved.  Bocce Ball is a fun beach game to be played with a cooler of beverages nearby, although that can also be a disadvantage as you try to plan out your strategy.