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Bocce, based on my totally unimpeachable peer-reviewed opinion, is the best lawn game in existence. I’ll make my case: Bocce can be enjoyed by people of all ages, it takes literally 0.0000001 seconds to learn the rules, and it requires just enough hand-eye coordination and aim to make even the most clumsy feel like they have some innate shred of athleticism. At the same time, bocce is a game you can play without ever having to set down your sherry colada, sea dog, real dog, or baby. Show me a game that can accommodate as many moods and vibes all at once, I dare you.
Bocce is the perfect game for barbecues, cookouts, and other al fresco dining excursions that are in close proximity to a level field of grass or stretch of sand. There is simply no other game that can entertain, facilitate friendly competition, distract people from their own hungry stomachs while the pollo asado finishes on the grill—all the while requiring incredibly low commitment, instant setup, and no long explanations.
If you haven’t played bocce before, I’ll teach you how to play the popular lawn game now. Bocce (Bah-chee, if you are an American), as it is known today, originated in Italy, around the same time that “throwing balls” and “having fun” were invented, I assume. To play, one person throws the little ball, or marker (it has a million names, call it whatever you want). Each person or team has a set of larger balls (typically two or four) and the goal is to throw the larger balls as close to the marker as possible, the closest at the end wins. My family played Price is Right rules, meaning that if your ball rolled past the marker it was out—but you don’t have to do that. There are a lot more rules and varieties of boules games out there, so you can get as technical as you want when it comes to scoring and gameplay; but there’s no harm in keeping things simple. There, now you know how to play bocce.
If you don’t have a Bocce set, well, there are plenty of them out there to satisfy every budgetary and aesthetic preference under the lazy summer sun. Below are a couple of straightforward, cute, and affordable sets you can buy online—plus, a few charming and spendy options if you want to play bocce in style.
Solid, affordable bocce sets for the whole family
I love a four color bocce set because it is easy to get more people involved and avoids the sometimes messy chore of setting up teams. There are plenty of good options on Amazon, but I’d choose one that comes with a carrying case for easy transport. This best-selling set from Amazon is an all-around solid standard bocce set.
If you’re planning on throwing the boules around long after the sun goes down, you can opt for a bocce set with light-up LED balls. Not only are these easy to keep track of in the dark, there’s also an undeniable trippy allure to tossing around balls of multicolored light.
The “Oh wow that’s so cute! Where’d you get it?” bocce sets
Lawn games like bocce have historical associations with bourgeois leisure time, and that vibe lives on in slightly more spendy bocce sets that only really distinguish themselves from the more affordable varieties with their stylish carrying cases or materials like wood or leather.
On the still more affordable end of the spectrum is the Magnolia Hearth and Hand bocce set, which has a sporty 1980s summer in Lake Como look going for it.
Then, of course, there is the L.L.Bean set, which comes with a canvas carrying tote that you can get embroidered with your family name (or something more ironic, in the spirit of this trend) if you so choose.
And if you really want to lean hard into aristocratic sensibilities, you can get a $330 set of wooden balls that come in a suede-lined leather carrying case that looks like it came off the loading dock of a transatlantic cruise.
