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Printable bocce score cards

Bocce scoring is simple right up until two balls look the same distance from the pallino and both teams remember the rules differently. Two cards per page, frame columns and running totals, with the actual scoring rules printed between them.

Shuffleboard score cards → Prints on one page — US Letter or A4. Save as PDF from the print dialog.

Bocce

Only one team scores each frame · 1 point per ball closer than the opponents’ best
Standard game to 12 — leagues play 13, 15, 16, or 21
Game 1 — playing to ______ (12 standard). One team scores per frame: 1 point for each ball closer to the pallino than the opponents’ closest.
FrameTeam ATeam B
ptstotalptstotal
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Game 2 — playing to ______ (12 standard). One team scores per frame: 1 point for each ball closer to the pallino than the opponents’ closest.
FrameTeam ATeam B
ptstotalptstotal
1
2
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12

Scoring a frame

  • When all eight balls are thrown, the team nearest the pallino scores — the other team scores nothing
  • 1 point per ball closer than the opponents’ closest ball — so 1 to 4 points a frame
  • Exactly tied closest balls: nobody scores the tie — next-closest decides, or the frame is dead
  • The scoring team throws the pallino to start the next frame
  • House variant (agree first): a ball touching the pallino — a kiss — counts 2
Bocce is a public-domain game. Targets differ by league — 12 is the common standard, with 13, 15, 16, and 21 all in league use, which is why the card has a write-in target instead of pretending there is only one answer.
Limestone Games bocce score cards · free printable · limestonegames.com/printables/

How to play and score bocce

One small ball — the pallino — gets thrown down the court, and then two teams of one, two, or four players take turns rolling eight big balls at it. The etiquette rule that keeps frames moving: the team that is not closest rolls next, so the side that is behind keeps throwing until they take the point back or run out of balls.

Counting the frame

When the balls run out, find the single closest ball: that team scores, one point for every ball beating the opponents' best. Write the frame score and the running total — the card's totals column is what stops the "wait, are we at 9 or 10?" conversation at game point. The scoring team throws the pallino for the next frame, which is a real advantage on a fast court.

Measure, don't debate

Bocce arguments are distance arguments. A tape measure from the pallino's center to each ball's nearest edge ends them in seconds; the card's frame-by-frame layout means a corrected call only ever rewrites one line. If your group plays kisses as two, circle the variant line in the key before the first roll.

Frequently asked

Do you have to win by two? Some leagues require it, most backyards don't — decide alongside the target score and write both at the top of the card.

Can bocce be played on grass? Anywhere reasonably flat: grass, gravel, sand, or a proper oyster-shell court. Shorter grass rolls truer, and the pallino rules don't change.

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