Mario Pagnoni’s book, The Joy of Bocce provides a definitive guide to the sport. On page one Mario states; “Bocce is an ancient game, its origin and evolution obscured by the mists of antiquity. The waters are further muddied by the fact that its development is intertwined with that of other bowling games.” Here is what we know and what we think we know.
The earliest reference to the sport of Bocce was found in an Egyptian tomb from 5200 B.C. bearing evidence of young boys tossing balls of polished stones. So we believe that the sport began in Egypt and Roman legionnaires liked the game and played with naturally rounded rocks. They brought the sport back from African and spread the sport throughout Europe and Asia.
Other historians believe that the Greeks became interested in Bocce around 600 B.C. Some believe that the Romans got involved with the game from the Greeks, and took it all over the world. At any rate, the game was named Bocce in Italy, petanque or boules in France and lawn bowling in England.The name bocce was derived from the Italian bacio meaning bowl. The idea is to get close to the small target ball called the pallino.
Long story short, the game grew in popularity throughout Europe and eventually in the United States. “In Italy and in the early days of bocce in the United States, women and children were discouraged from playing. The game was the domain of men.” Over time, that has changed and women and the younger generation have been encouraged to play. This change has helped to increase the popularity of Bocce. In addition, court sizes and rules were different, depending upon the geographical area the immigrants came. Bocce is and has remained a remarkably resilient game, surviving and growing despite these and other problems.
The game is played with one to four players per team. The Bocce Club uses modified US Bocce Federation rules for open Bocce. (A link to the USBF web site is available on the home page) When playing with four people per team, all can play from the same side or two players from each team will play on either side of the court. Each player will play with two balls. Usually a coin toss will determine which team goes first. The team that wins the toss will throw the pallino (small ball) down the court. The pallino must pass the center line on the court and stop before the back foul line. The team that threw the pallino will throw the first ball. The opposing team will throw their balls until they beat first ball thrown. If a thrown ball is determined to be too close to the pallino to beat, it can be shot out by rolling or throwing a ball fast. This shot is called a raffa.
At the Bocce Club, any ball, except for the pallino, that hits the back wall is out of play. This is a change from USBF rules, which allows all balls to remain in play so long as they hit another ball or pallino before hitting the back wall. After all balls have been thrown, the team with the closest ball or balls to the pallino are awarded the points for that round at one point per ball. Play continues from the opposite end of the court with the winning team of the last frame throwing the pallino. Play will continue in this manner until an agreed point total (usually 12 points) is reached by one team. That team is the winner of the game.