About Beach Bocce Ball

Beach Bocce Ball's history is relatively brief, however it was inspired by an ancient game that is still hugely popular today.

Beach Bocce Ball is a new version of an ancient sport, Bocce, first documented in a 5200 B.C. painting of boys playing, and discovered by an English scientist, Sir Francis Petrial, in an Egyptian tomb. Bocce spread throughout Palestine and into Asia Minor. In 600 B.C., Bocce was picked up by the Greeks and passed to the Romans. It was played everywhere, from the churches and castles to the city streets. People from all walks of life could play the game; young or old, man or woman. Bocce frequently lost and gained popularity throughout the ages. In 1896, during a resurgence of popularity, the first Bocce Olympiad was held in Athens, Greece. Bocce has been a part of international sports ever since.

Italian immigrants get credit for bringing the game of Bocce to the United States. Its original centers of popularity were New York City and San Francisco because of their large Italian-American populations. But, as newer generations grew away from the sport, Bocce declined and seemed in danger of extinction in this country. The sport experienced a small resurgence during the 1970s and has been dramatically on the rise since it swept California in 1989. Today there are more than 25,000,000 Bocce enthusiasts that have heard of the sport, play recreationally, or play on structured courts in the United States. Outside of California, major centers of popularity include Chicago, Las Vegas, Memphis, New Orleans, Phoenix, St. Louis, New York and now Southwest Florida.

Bocce has seen many changes throughout the ages. It has evolved from being a crude sport played with rounded rocks, or even coconuts, to the modern game with composite or metal balls. Bocce has been known under many names - lawn bowling, nine pins, skittles, petanque, to name a few - and has seen many rule changes. The differences in countries and around the world are subtle and are a result of different cultures picking up the game and adapting slightly different rules as time passed.

Bocce can be played upon any level surface by anyone who is willing to try. It is a game for all ages, gender and athletic ability. It is a very versatile game in which the rules may be changed according to the players. Play may range from a nearly nonexistent set of rules to the strictest of tournament rules.

Beach Bocce Ball takes all the fun of the original sport and adapts it to the beach environment, resulting in what we believe is the perfect beach game, bringing families and friends together to enjoy a game that everyone can play.

What's the difference between Beach Bocce Ball, regular Bocce Ball and similar games such as Petanque?

With Beach Bocce Ball a close cousin of traditional Bocce and the popular French version, Petanque, we thought we’d try to explain the differences. Beach Bocce Ball was developed after many rounds of “free-form” Bocce and Petanque on the United States Gulf Coast, an ideal setting for beach games of all types. The problem we found with Bocce and Petanque, though often played on the beach, is that neither of those games was designed strictly with the beach in mind. Beach Bocce Ball was.

Specifically, traditional Bocce balls are larger and solid, about the size of a grapefruit, colored (usually green & red), and generally made from resin or wood. Rather heavy and cumbersome to lug around when a sandy beach is your domain. On top of that, Bocce is really intended for court play.

Petanque is more flexible, with smaller balls, but they’re always made from metal. Problem is, over time they will rust in a beach environment. Our Beach Bocce Ball balls are both smaller than traditional Bocce balls and rust-proof, made from polyurethane resin based materials. And we ditched Bocce’s green and red balls in favor of bright beach colors like yellow, orange, green and blue. Put simply, we blended the assets of both games, overcame the negatives and as a result have the ideal Bocce game for the beach setting. We left it easy to play for people already familiar with Bocce or Petanque, with the counting of points and playing tactics similar to these games.

In summary, the primary adjustments from traditional Bocce are reducing the size of the Bocce balls from approximately 4 inches to 3 inches, changing to “beach” colors and designing a rust and weather-proof ball that weighs just over a pound. The result is the ideal size, weight and durability for beach play.