ATV camping in the back country offers so many opportunities for different activities to do. There is ATV trail riding, hiking, fishing, hunting and relaxing by the campfire. One activity that is always fun around the campsite is All-Terrain Bocce Ball.
All-terrain bocce ball is similar to regular bocce ball except there is no bocce court just the area around the campsite. For those not familiar with bocce ball, the basic object of the game is one of the players tosses a small ball (called the Jack). Then each of the players throws (bowls) a larger ball (bocce ball) towards the Jack in an attempt to be the closest to the Jack.
Now there is an official rule book for bocce ball and a designated court on which it is to be played. But with all-terrain bocce ball the court is the surrounding terrain of your back country campsite hence the name “All-Terrain Bocce Ball”. The rules are simple and are as follows:
Using a standard bocce ball set (1- Jack and 8- bocce balls) up to four players or four teams of two can play.- Each player or team gets two bocce balls (preferably of the same color).
- One of the players is selected to throw the Jack to start the game.
- The Jack can be thrown in any direction. It is strictly the preference of the player throwing the Jack.
- After all the players have observe the location of the Jack, the player that threw the Jack will then throw their bocce ball towards the Jack.
- Each player will one-at-a-time throw their bocce ball from the same point as the first player, toward the Jack in an attempt to knock either the Jack or another bocce ball away to attain a more favorable position closest to the Jack.
- After all bocce balls have been thrown, the players determine who is closest to the Jack and that player is awarded one point and the throw of the jack for the next round.
- OPTIONAL: The player farthest away has to take a shot of the camp drink of choice.
- After each round the Jack is thrown from its position the previous round.
- The length of the game varies but is typically from 10 – 15 points.
Because this is all-terrain bocce ball, it can get vary challenging due to the obstacles the terrain offers; hills, rocks, sand, trees, logs, tall grass, and water. Tactics can get quite complex when players have sufficient control over the bocce ball to throw or roll it accurately across the back country terrain.
There are some pretty fancy bocce ball sets available from metal bocce balls to plastic bocce balls. Invest in a cheap plastic set for all-terrain bocce ball. Avoid the hard resin balls (billiards ball like) as these will break in half if they hit something hard like a rock.
So give all-terrain bocce ball a try on your next ATV camping trip. It’s great fun after a long day of riding, hiking, fishing, hunting or whatever you do in the back country.
