What's the Game Where You Throw Bean Bags Into a Hole Called?

If you've landed here after typing something like "game where you throw bean bags into a hole", you're in very good company. We sell this game for a living, and roughly half of the Australians who find our cornhole sets through Google never use the word "cornhole" at all. They describe it instead.

Here's a genuine sample of what people type: bean bag throwing game. Sack toss. Sandbag game. Bag in hole game. Throw the bean bag in the hole game. The bean bag game. And, more than once, the slightly desperate bean bag throwing game name.

So let's settle it properly: the name, where it came from, every alias you might have heard, and how to actually play.

Why nobody in Australia knows what the bean bag toss game is called

Cornhole is an American backyard game that arrived here without its name attached. It came in through American TV, tailgate parties and social media, so a lot of Australians have seen the game long before they ever heard a word for it. You watch it, you think "that looks fun", and then you go to buy one and realise you have no idea what to search for.

The word itself doesn't help. "Cornhole" sounds like nothing in particular to an Australian ear, so even people who have heard it often don't trust it enough to type it. Describing the thing feels safer, hence "the game where you throw bags at a board".

Every name for the bean bag toss game

If you've heard the game called something not on this list, you're probably still thinking of the same game. It collects new names wherever it goes.

Two more worth clearing up, because we see them constantly:

• "Hacky sack game with a board." A hacky sack is a footbag you keep in the air with your feet, a different thing entirely. If you're picturing a board with a hole in it, you mean cornhole.
• "Corn hole" as two words. Same game, and it's arguably the more logical spelling. A hole. For corn bags.

Why on earth is it called cornhole?

Because of what was originally inside the bags. The first bags were filled with dried corn kernels, and the target is a hole. Corn, hole. It's not more sophisticated than that.

The game's ancestry goes back further than most people expect. In 1883 an American named Heyliger de Windt patented a game called Parlor Quoits, which had almost every feature of modern cornhole. Bean bags, a slanted board, a target. The only real difference was that the hole was square. A Massachusetts toy company later sold a version called Faba Baga with two holes of different sizes.

Cornhole as we know it took shape much later, on the west side of Cincinnati in the 1980s, before spreading through Kentucky and southern Indiana and then, slowly, across the whole country. It's now organised enough to have professional leagues. The American Cornhole Organization (ACO), the American Cornhole League (ACL) and the American Cornhole Association (ACA) all run competition and set equipment standards, and there's a televised circuit in the US, a UK league founded in 2021, and a World Cup that's been running since 2023.

So what are the bags actually filled with?

Four fillings turn up, and they play differently enough that it's worth knowing which you're buying.

So the honest answer to "is it a sandbag toss game?" is: sometimes, if you buy a cheap set. What matters more for play is weight. Regulation bags are 15cm square and weigh between roughly 400 and 460 grams, whatever is inside them.

How to play cornhole in sixty seconds

Two sides, four bags each, thrown underarm in alternating turns from behind the front edge of the board. A bag through the hole is 3 points, a bag resting on the board is 1, and a bag on the ground is nothing.

The part that surprises people is cancellation scoring. Only one side scores each round: you subtract the lower round total from the higher and award the difference. If red scores 5 and blue scores 3, red gets 2 and blue gets nothing. It keeps games tight right to the end, and the first side to reach or pass 21 wins.

For the full rules, fouls, doubles, the variations people play and a free printable score sheet, see how to play cornhole.

Official bean bag toss board dimensions

If you want a set you can practise on and still perform with at a tournament, these are the American Cornhole Association regulation measurements. Anything sold as a "regulation" or "tournament" set should match them.

How much room do you actually need?

More than most people guess, and less than the numbers suggest. The boards sit 8.23 metres apart, and you need throwing space behind each one, so plan on roughly 12 to 13 metres of clear length. Width barely matters, and 3 metres is plenty.

Most Australian backyards will take that if you run the game along the longest line of the lawn rather than across it. If yours won't, just shorten the gap. Nobody is checking, and a slightly closer game is still a good game.

Is it any good for kids?

It's one of the best backyard games going for mixed ages, and the reason is simple: an underarm toss is a movement every child already has. A five-year-old can land a bag on the board on their first attempt and feel like they're playing the real game, because they are.

It also rewards accuracy rather than strength, so a kid genuinely can beat an adult without anyone going easy on them, which almost no other backyard game manages. Move the boards closer for the little ones, keep the scoring the same, and everybody plays the same match.

Worth checking before you buy for a family: rounded, hand-sanded corners, a splinter-free playing surface, and a leg brace positioned low enough that bags can't vanish underneath the board.

If you want more to play with the same bags, we have rounded up twelve bean bag games for kids, most of which need nothing more than a few buckets and some chalk.

What to look for when you're buying a set

• Regulation dimensions. Board length dictates the arc you throw and hole size decides whether a good shot is rewarded or a lucky one is. Practise on the wrong size and the throw you groove won't travel.
• Bags included, and enough of them. You need eight, four per side in two colours. A surprising number of cheaper sets ship four, or none.
• Bag size and weight. 15cm square, between 400 and 460 grams. Light bags skid off the back; heavy ones land dead and won't slide into the hole.
• Folding legs and a carry bag. Two 122cm boards are awkward. Folding legs and a case are the difference between a game that comes out every weekend and one that lives behind the shed.
• A real warranty. Timber outdoor games live a hard life. A maker offering five years is telling you something about the construction.

So what do I call it?

Call it cornhole if you want the name that tournaments, leagues and manufacturers all use. Call it bean bag toss if you'd rather everyone at the barbecue knows what you mean without a follow-up question.

Both are correct. And now you know what to type into Google.

And if you are about to buy one, it is worth knowing that Australian sets vary enormously in size despite sharing a name. We have set out what to compare before you buy.

Frequently asked questions

Sources: Official rules and regulation dimensions from the American Cornhole Association. Game history and alternative names from Wikipedia: Cornhole. Australian search behaviour from All Things For Kids' own Google Ads search term data, October 2017 to August 2026.