Boccia Rules Made Simple

1. Balls and court

Balls

A set has 13 balls: 6 red, 6 blue, and one white jack. The balls are soft, made of leather or synthetic leather. They don’t just roll — they can squash slightly and stop, or knock other balls out of the way. Official balls must have a circumference of about 27 cm (roughly 8.6 cm in diameter) and weigh about 275 g.

Court

An official court is a flat floor 12.5 m long by 6 m wide. At one end are six “throwing boxes”, where players sit to throw. In front of the boxes is the “V-line”: the jack must cross it to be valid. The “cross” (an X mark) near the middle of the court is where the jack is placed when it needs to be put back.

For recreational play, people often mark out rough lines with tape on a gym’s badminton court or a classroom floor. What matters is that you can tell three things: where to throw from, the line the jack has to cross, and what counts as out of the court.

2. Pairs and team play

Two sides, red and blue, play against each other. The number of balls per player and the number of ends depend on how many players there are.

In both formats, each side throws 6 balls per end. Players stay in their assigned boxes, and the job of throwing the jack rotates in box order. That way, every player throws the jack the same number of times (in pairs, 4 players once each over 4 ends; in team play, 6 players once each over 6 ends).

There is also individual (one-on-one) play, but this app covers pairs and team play only.

3. How an end works

A match is divided into several “ends”. Each end goes like this:

1. The designated player throws the jack.
2. The player who threw the jack throws the first colored ball.
3. Next, the other side throws one ball.
4. From then on, the side that does not have the ball closest to the jack throws (see “Who throws next?” below).
5. When both sides have thrown all their balls (or decided not to throw them), the referee counts the score.

A ball that goes out of the court, or is thrown after the side’s time has run out, becomes a “dead ball” and is removed from the court. Dead balls don’t count toward the score. When all the ends are finished, the scores of every end are added up, and the side with more points wins.

4. The jack (the white ball)

• Who throws it: red throws the jack in end 1, blue in end 2, and so on — red in odd-numbered ends and blue in even-numbered ends. Within a side, the player who throws it changes in box order.
• Valid or invalid: if the jack stops without crossing the V-line, or goes out of the court, it is invalid. The player due to throw the jack in the next end throws it instead (in the last end, it goes back to the player from end 1). This continues in order until a valid jack is thrown. The next end goes back to the normal order.
• If it leaves the court during play: if a colored ball knocks the jack out of the court, the jack is placed on the cross and play continues.

5. Who throws next?

This is the most important rule in boccia: the side that does not have the ball closest to the jack — in other words, the side that’s “losing” — throws next. That side keeps throwing, as many balls as it takes, until it gets closer than the other side; then the turn switches.

For example, if red gets a ball right next to the jack, blue keeps throwing until it gets closer than red. Once blue is closer, it’s red’s turn again. If the losing side runs out of balls, the other side throws all its remaining balls.

If they’re the same distance

If the closest red ball and the closest blue ball are the same distance from the jack, the side that threw last throws again, and after that the sides take turns.

When you can’t tell by eye which is closer, the referee measures, for example with a tape measure. Once the referee has indicated which side throws next, a player from that side may ask for the score or for a measure. The referee won’t answer questions about where the balls are (for example, “which of my opponent’s balls is closer?”), but players may walk onto the court to see for themselves (rule 15.6).

6. Scoring

At the end of each end, the score is counted like this:

1. Only the side with the ball closest to the jack scores.
2. That side scores one point for each of its balls that is closer to the jack than the other side’s closest ball.

Example: if the balls, from closest to the jack, go “red, red, blue, red…”, there are two red balls closer than blue’s closest ball, so red scores 2 points and blue scores 0.

If the closest red and blue balls are the same distance, both sides get 1 point. If the next balls are also tied at the same distance, those count too. The most points a side can score in one end is 6.

7. When it’s a tie (tie-break)

If the totals are equal after all the ends, the winner is decided by an extra end called a “tie-break”.

• The side that wins a coin toss chooses whether to throw first or second.
• The jack isn’t thrown; it is placed on the cross.
• Play it like a normal end; the side with more points wins. Tie-break points are not added to the match total.
• If the tie-break is also tied, the side that throws first switches, and you repeat until there’s a winner.

8. Time limits

In official matches, each side has a time limit for each end. The clock only runs while it’s that side’s turn, and once a side’s time is used up, it can’t throw its remaining balls. The time taken to throw the jack also counts against the time of the side that threw it.

There is 1 minute between ends. The clock is stopped while the referee is measuring and at similar times.

9. Violations and penalties

The official rules list many specific violations, but the idea is simple. Breaking a rule in a way that could give you an advantage — such as “throwing when it isn’t your turn”, “touching or crossing the box line while throwing” or “throwing before the referee’s signal” — is a violation.

• Penalty ball: for many violations, the other side is awarded one “penalty ball”. It is thrown at the end of the end toward a 35 cm square target box, and scores 1 point if it stops inside.
• Ball removed: depending on the violation, the ball thrown in violation is removed from the court.
• Warning or disqualification: for serious misconduct or repeated violations, a yellow card or red card may be shown.

In recreational play, we recommend saying “Let’s throw that one again” rather than calling violations, so that everyone can enjoy the game.

10. Sport classes

In official competitions, players compete in four sport classes, BC1 to BC4, based on the type and degree of their impairment. For example, BC3 is the class for players who can’t throw the ball by hand; with the help of an assistant, they roll the ball down a slide-like device called a “ramp”. Time limits differ between classes because of differences in how players throw like this.

11. What this app simplifies

Boccia Referee aims to make refereeing easier for recreational boccia in local communities, schools and care facilities. It follows the rules above, simplified as follows:

• The default time limit for pairs is 4 minutes, since many recreational players throw standing up (you can also choose 7 minutes, any number of minutes, or no timer).
• You can change the number of ends and balls per player to fit your time and group size.
• Violations aren’t told apart: the app only handles “penalty balls” and points added to an end’s score. Substitutions, cards and time-outs aren’t included.
• When time runs out, the app doesn’t make balls dead automatically. It alerts you, and the referee makes them dead with a button.
• In rare situations, such as different numbers of red and blue balls tied at the same distance, the app doesn’t decide the turn automatically; the referee can correct it with “Red (Blue) throws next”.
• You can also use it as a simple “scoreboard”, entering only the score for each end instead of recording every throw.

For how to use the app, see the How to use page.