The Perfect Outdoor Game for the Whole Family!
If your family is anything like mine, finding an outdoor activity that works for everyone can be a challenge. Our family spans 50 years and has varying skill levels, but one thing we all have in common is our friendly (and sometimes fierce!) competitive spirit!
Enter bocce ball. My husband and I first discovered bocce on a date night in Los Gatos. After a day of wine tasting, we ended up at Campo di Bocce. I had never played before and had barely heard of the game, but after just a few tosses of the ball, I was hooked! We immediately knew this was something our kids would love. With warmer weather on the horizon, I researched a few local options for a day of “forced family fun.”
Okay, joking . . . but not really! If your household struggles with getting kids off screens and outside, I get it. Every time we go out, they resist, and boy do they complain—at first—BUT once we get started, they always say THANK YOU and have a blast. Just like me, after the first five minutes, my kids were fully engaged and loving it!
WHY BOCCE?
As a mom, I love sneaking in STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and math) learning without my kids even realizing it! Bocce is a fantastic way to sharpen math and science skills—players keep score, measure probability, and mentally calculate angles, distance, force, and momentum.
Beyond STEAM, bocce offers cognitive and motor skill development for all ages. It helps with visual perception, hand-eye coordination, and manual dexterity. For younger kids, it helps them learn number and shape recognition, grouping, and counting, and also builds essential social skills like communication, sharing, and taking turns. This is serious learning made fun, seamlessly!
WHAT IS BOCCE?
Did you know bocce is the world’s third most popular outdoor sport after golf and soccer? I had no idea, and I pride myself on most things outdoors and inexpensive! My 12-year-old daughter is into ancient Egyptian and Greek history, so she loved learning that the game has been played for thousands of years, with its earliest reference found in 5,200 BC Egyptian tomb painting. The modern version became widely popular in Italy in the 1940s and has increased its appeal globally ever since. Fun fact: George Washington even built a bocce court at Mount Vernon in the 1780s!
A GAME FOR EVERYONE!
One of my favorite things about bocce is its inclusivity. After sharing our family’s experience on social media, I learned that a friend’s two children are bocce pros in the Special Olympics! Kids as young as three years old can play this game, and players as old as 80 are seen on courts across the globe. The tournament age of players is commonly 65! I love that this sport is accessible for people of all ages and abilities. Few activities bring together every generation quite like bocce.
HOW TO PLAY
The game is simple and easy to learn:
- You need at least two players or two teams with as many as eight players.
- Each team gets four weighted balls, one set red and the other green, but it is not mandatory.
- One player throws a small white ball called the pallino (pronounced “paul-ee-no”).
- Players take turns rolling their balls, trying to get as close as possible to the pallino.
- Points are scored based on proximity to the pallino.
- After seven rounds, the team with the most points wins!
- Or you can do any version of rounds and points! It is a very flexible game!
GET OUTSIDE AND PLAY!
Bocce ball is more than just a game—it’s a fantastic way to bring your family together, get outside, and create lasting memories. Whether you’re playing on a regulation court, in your backyard, or even on the beach, bocce is easy to learn, endlessly fun, and a great way to sneak in some learning while having a blast.
So, grab a bocce set, pack a picnic, and challenge your family to a little friendly competition! Who knows? You might start a new family tradition. See you at the park!
WHERE TO PLAY
On the Monterey Peninsula, we’re lucky to have several public bocce courts. But the best part? You don’t need a regulation court! Bocce can be played almost anywhere—on grass, sand (choose hard-packed sand for better rolling!), gravel, turf, or even crushed shells, which is popular in some countries.
PUBLIC BOCCE COURTS ON THE MONTEREY PENINSULA
- Veteran’s Memorial Park, Monterey
- Custom House Plaza, Monterey
- Cowgirl Winery, Carmel Valley Village
- Del Rey Oaks Park, Del Rey Oaks
- Bluff Courts Park, East Garrison
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