You know you're from Ohio when you hear the word 'cornhole' and don't chuckle to yourself. Drive anywhere around the midwest in the summer, and you can see the game being played at parties, BBQ's, and charity events. The game goes by many names depending on what area of the country you are in, but its most commonly referred to as cornhole. It also goes by regional names such as bags, baggo, or bean bag toss. Whatever you call the cornhole game, most people find themselves addicted to the game from the moment you pick up the bags. Its a game that young and old can play, any shape or size, and something that's easy to do while you continue socializing with others at the party.

The history of the game is somewhat unknown, but it is widely circulated that it was started by farmers in Ohio. Most people vaguely remember playing the game when there were kids, but it wasn't until recent years that the 'sport' took off and started spreading like wildfire. The point of the game is this. Place the platforms around twenty-seven feet apart from each other and then have the two opponents alternate tossing their cornhole bags at the board opposite of them. Each player tosses their four colored bags until they are done. A bag in the hole is worth 3 points and one on the board is worth 1. You tally all the points on the board and the team with the most points gets to add the difference to their score.

You can opt to buy the boxes over the internet or you can pull out your wood, hammer, and nails and make the boxes on your own. Regulation platforms measure 4'x2' and are constructed with 1/2" plywood and have a 6" hole cut towards the top of the board. A lot of companies will offer portable cornhole boards that collapse for simple traveling. In some areas of the country, namely Chicago, it is popular to use smaller boards measuring 3'x2'. Because of the shorter surface and the steeper pitch, these boards are more difficult to play on. But, the big advantage to playing on these boards is that they can fit into your vehicle with ease and that makes for easy portability. The bags are pretty simple to make, they are filled with 14-16 ounces of feed corn and they measure 6 inches x 6 inches.

The sport has really developed in the past few years and now it is not uncommon to see tournaments year round in various parts of the country. In Ohio, the largest cornhole tournament was even televised and had thousands of entries from people wanting to showcase their dominance. The tournaments tend to get very good draws because they are sometimes the only opportunity for a player to test his skill against others that play with the same frequency as them. Tournaments have been an answer to prayer for most cornhole players, who until recently were stuck playing with their friends on their homemade cornhole sets. These organized tournaments allow players to measure themselves against the best and most talented players in the area.

Product developers have come to the rescue and met the desires of the fast growing sport. Ask any avid player and they can tell you that there are two problems with corn filled bags, they can't get wet and they are prone to critter invasions. Thankfully, a company has identified this as a problem and developed the weather resistant cornhole bags which contain plastic as opposed to corn filing. Other companies are coming out with various scoretowers so you don't have to rack your brain trying to remember the count of the game. Although its growing fast, many folks are simply drawn to the game because of its simple concept and nature. Tossing bean bags on a summer evening is about as relaxing as it gets, maybe that's why it's growing so fast.