How to Make a Cornhole Board

• Use a carpenter square to mark a 25-degree angle at the end of a 2x4. Cut along the angled line.
• Measure 12 1/4 inches from the long side of the angle and mark a straight line. Cut the board on this line.
• This creates one leg. Repeat the process until you have four legs.
• If you don’t have a carpenter square, cut four legs to 12 1/4 inches long. Place a mark at 10 5/8 inches on one narrow side and use a straightedge to draw a diagonal line from this mark to the end of the leg. This line will be approximately 25 degrees.

Cut the other 2x4s as follows: 

• For the front and back, mark and cut four 21-inch lengths.
• For the sides, mark and cut four 48-inch lengths.

• To assemble the bases, position two 21-inch boards between two 48-inch boards in the shape of a rectangle.
• For best results, get the edges of the first corner flush and clamp them to your work surface before driving in the screws.
• Follow this procedure for the rest of the corners.
• Use self-drilling screws. Or pre-drill pilot holes to use regular wood screws.

Attach a pre-cut cornhole plywood top to each frame using 1 1/2-inch wood screws.

If you have opted to create your own top, attach the smooth plywood top. Then use a 6-inch hole saw attached to an electric drill to carefully cut out the hole you previously marked.

• On the square end of each leg, mark a point 1 3/4 inches from the end and 1 3/4 inches from the side. Drill a 3/8-inch hole at this point.
• On the square end of each leg, make a mark one inch in from each side, then mark one inch down each side from the end. Connect the marks with a line to make a 45-degree cut line. Clamp each leg to the edge of your workspace and cut along these lines.
• Use sandpaper to round off the corners.

• Flip the cornhole board facedown.
• Place a leg in each of the corners on the end with the cornhole. Place a leg in each of the corners on the end with the cornhole. The rounded end with the hole for the carriage bolt should be toward the corner.
• Place a piece of cardboard below the leg. Leave a 1/2-inch gap between the end of the leg and the end board of the base. Clamp the leg to the side of the frame.
• Use the 3/8-inch hole on the leg as a guide to drill through the frame. Make sure there is enough clearance for the leg to rotate.
• Attach each leg to the frame using 3/8-inch carriage bolts, adding two washers on each side of the leg bolt and nuts. Thread a nut onto the bolt and tighten it, then thread on another nut and tighten it, using it as a “jam nut.”
• Test leg to make sure it will rotate freely.
• Flip the board upright and measure to ensure that the top corner stands 12 inches tall.
• Repeat on the other cornhole board.

• Sand and paint your cornhole board with exterior paint or use exterior stain. This will make sure your cornhole board is protected from the elements when outdoors.
• Official cornhole boards will have a semi-gloss finish. This can be obtained with semi-gloss paint or with semi-gloss polyurethane.
• Allows the boards to dry, according to the directions.

Playing a game with our DIY cornhole boards is fun and easy! The game can be played with two or four people. 

• Place the two boards 27 feet apart from front edge to front edge.
• All players start the game at board 1.
• Alternate pitching cornhole bags until each player/team has pitched all 4 bags.
• Players then walk to board 2 and tally the score.
• Play resumes from board 2 in the same manner, pitching back toward board 1.
• The player/team that scored in the frame before pitches first in the next frame. If neither side has scored, the first pitch is retained by the player/team who pitched first in the preceding frame.

Understanding scoring is how to make a cornhole game competitive and more fun:

• Any pitch that lands and remains on the wood surface of the cornhole board is worth 1 point.
• Any pitch that passes through the hole in the board is worth 3 points.
• A bag that comes to rest touching the board and the ground does not count.
• The first team to 21 points wins the game.
• For more specific rules, see Step 10.

Enjoying your next game of cornhole is as simple as following a few rules. 

Game piece rules:

• A cornhole board’s surface should be 2-foot x 4-foot.
• There should only be 8 cornhole bags with 4 bags of each color.
• Each cornhole bag is 6 inches by 6 inches and holds one pound of corn.

Player rules:

• Bags must be pitched underhand.
• Feet must be behind the line at the front of the board when the bag is released.
• The team/player must stay in their lane (left or right) of the board for the whole game. Changing sides is not permitted.
• Two teams of two people or partners play at one time.
• Each set of cornhole partners will have 4 bags of one color.
• All 8 cornhole bags begin at one end.
• Partners shall stand at opposite cornhole boxes on the same side, from the perspective of a third person, and face each other, so there is no advantage given to one team.
• A coin flip will decide which team has honors in round one.
• One of the partners on the team who has honors will begin the game by throwing a cornhole bag at the opposite cornhole box.
• The next round starts when the other cornhole player on the team, which has honors, throws their first cornhole bag.
• A cornhole player may throw from anywhere behind the front of the cornhole box they are throwing from.
• Once the game starts, it continues by alternating throws between the two opponent players until all 8 cornhole bags have been thrown.
• If a cornhole bag hits the ground then bounces up onto the board, that bag shall be taken off the playing surface.

A foul occurs when any of the following happens:

• A cornhole player's foot goes past the foot foul line, termed a foot foul.
• A player goes out of turn.
• The player who caused the foul loses the throw when the foul happened, and the bag will be removed if it landed on the playing surface.

The score shall be taken after all cornhole bags have been thrown for a round. The team that reaches 21 or more points first wins! Points shall be given as follows:

• 3 points for a cornhole bag that goes through the hole.
• 1 point for a cornhole bag that is on the playing surface.
• 1 point for a cornhole bag that is hanging into the hole.
• 1 point for a cornhole bag that is hanging off the edge but not touching the ground.
• 0 points for a cornhole bag that is on the playing surface, but also touching the ground.
• 0 points for a cornhole bag that is hanging off the front edge and is resting on a cornhole bag that is on the ground. If the cornhole bag on the ground can be removed without making the hanging bag fall to the ground, then 1 point is given.

How the final score is calculated:

• The cornhole team with the highest round score adds the difference of the two scores to their game score.
• The cornhole team who wins the round is given honors to throw first in the next round.
• If both cornhole teams have the same round score, then the game score stays the same and honors stays with the team who had it the previous round.