Teams

• Each team will consist of four (4) players.
• Two (2) players from each team will be permanently stationed at each end of the court.
• Each player will throw two (2) balls per frame.
• A team not showing within five (5) minutes of the scheduled starting time, looses two points. A team not showing up within 10 minutes of the scheduled starting time forfeits the game.
• A team may make one substitution per game. Substitutions may only be made between frames.
• A team missing players at the start of the game may play, however, each player may still only roll two (2) balls.
• A player arriving late may enter a game, but only after the completion of the frame.

Starting the Game

• The referee will conduct a coin flip with the captains of each team.
• The winner of the coin flip may have the first toss of the pallino (small target ball).

Tossing the Pallino

• The team will select a member to toss the pallino.
• A player may toss the pallino any distance, so long as the pallino passes the center line of the court and does come to rest on the court boundary or out of bounds.
• If a player fails to toss the pallino properly, the opposing team will toss the pallino and put it into play.
• If the opposing team fails to properly toss the pallino, the pallino reverts to the original team.
• Any time a player is rolling, opposing players must remain outside the court.

Playing the Game

• The first bocce ball will be thrown by the team who originally tossed the pallino.
• If the first bocce ball rolls out of bounds, the team must roll again using the remaining ball.
• If the ball is in bounds, the team does not roll again until the opposing team has either rolled one if its bocce balls closer to the pallino or has thrown all of its balls.
• Play continues until both teams have used all their bocce balls.
• The team who scored last throws the pallino to begin the next frame.

Fouls and Other Mishaps

• Players may step on but not over the foul line before releasing the pallino or their ball.
• Team captains may measure any balls at any time. All disputes will be resolved by the referee.
• Once the pallino is in play, it remains in play even if it is moved by other balls during the game. However, if the pallino is knocked out of the court the frame will end and play will resume from the opposite end of the court, with the same team tossing the pallino.
• A ball thrown off the court is dead and must be removed from play unless it first hits another ball in which case all balls are valid.

Scoring

• Only one team scores in a frame.
• One point is given for each ball that is closer to the pallino than the closest ball of the opposing team.
• If at the end of any frame the closest ball of each team is equidistant from the pallino, no points are awarded to either team and the game resumes from the opposite end of the court, with the same team tossing the pallino.
• In the morning Round Robin portion of the tournament, it is possible that teams will score more than 11 points.  This is allowed when a team scores their 11th point in the final frame of play, but scores additional points in the same frame.  In this case, those points count toward the team's total number of Round Robin points.

Winning

• Games will be held to time limits for Round-Robin, Sweet Sixteen, and Elite Eight rounds. For games in these rounds, the game is won by the first team to reach 11 points OR by the team with the most points at the end of 30 minutes. If the teams are tied at the end of 30 minutes, play will continue until the next point is scored.
• Games will be held to point limits for the Final Four and Championship rounds. For games in these rounds, the game is won by the first team to reach 11 points.
• The top three teams in each division plus the next one best teams overall (wildcards) will advance from the Round-Robin tournament round to the Sweet Sixteen tournament round. Ties will be broken by total score differential (e.g. 12 total points for and 7 total points against = +5 differential) and then head-to-head play. If still tied, a coin flip will determine who moves on.
• Seeding for the tournament will be determined by 1) Order of finish in round robin (e.g. first or second place), 2) record in round robin, 3) score differential in round robin, or if needed, 4) a coin toss. Seeding will follow standard single-elimination tournament seeding where the highest ranked team plays the lowest ranked team and so on. Teams will not be re-seeded in each round.
• After the Round-Robin teams will advance by winning individual games in the tournament.