By Dave Roth
Have you ever played the bean bag game? You probably have, and you just don't remember. Most likely you played it in elementary school, in your physical education class. If you did and you've forgotten it's time you remembered how much fun it was. If you've never played it, it's time you learned how much fun it is. You can play it on your own, but it's usually more fun with friends and family members. However, if you want to learn to play it fairly well before you start enjoying the game with other people you might want to practice on your own for a little while. Whichever way you choose to handle it, playing the bean bag game – which some people also call the Cornhole game – can be a really enjoyable and rewarding experience. First, you have to learn how to play, and it's a simple thing to do. Basically you throw lightweight cloth bags at a hole in a board. If they go through, they score points. There is, of course, more to the game than that, or it wouldn't stay very interesting for very long.
The board for the bean bag game is usually constructed of either plastic or wood, but wooden boards are more common and more traditional. Plastic ones have been constructed recently because some people think that they hold up to the weather better. Others disagree and say that plastic boards don't perform well because they degrade in sunlight where wooden boards do not. Whatever your preference, you can learn to play the game on either kind of board, according to what you like. You can even build your own bean bag game board and make your own bags if you enjoy working with your hands that way. Bags can be hand-sewn, so there's no sewing machine required. Once you have a board and the bags that you need, you can start playing. There is a specific distance that you need to stand from the board, and you'll toss the bags – which used to be filled with dried corn or dried beans but are today usually filled with plastic pellets – toward the hole. If they go into the hole they are worth points. If they stay on the board but don't fall in they're also worth points, but just not as many.
Bags that don't hit the board at all or that don't stay on the board once they hit it don't score any points, and you need twenty-one points to win the game. You can play on your own, against another person, or in teams, making the game very versatile and fun for all ages. Since gatherings of family and friends usually have a lot of different age groups, the bean bag game is a good choice. It's not difficult, confusing, or physically strenuous, and everyone can play the game and enjoy it. There aren't that many games around today that young and old alike can play and enjoy. With that being the case, the bean bag game should have a place at family get-togethers for a long time to come.
Dave Roth owns a site that sells cornhole products. In addition to cornhole bags, the site also features rules and building instructions.
Source:www.isnare.com |
