Big Sky Games

The Big Sky State Games is monitoring the ongoing concerns regarding the Coronavirus (COVID-19). The health and safety of the participants, friends, family members, the community of Billings and Montana are our top priority. We remain optimistic and hopeful that the Games will be held in July.

With the Big Sky State Games not scheduled to begin until mid-July (some events in June), all events are currently planned to proceed at this time but are subject to change as the situation further develops. Please refer to the Big Sky State Games website for updates.

Registration for the Summer Games will open mid April. The Big Sky State Games is following the recommendations and directives of the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) and the state health department/Governor’s Office. We will follow their guidelines in terms of the continuation of events. Should they mandate events be canceled or rescheduled, Big Sky State Games will provide all participants with more detailed information regarding event rescheduling, cancellation, or refunds.

During these unprecedented times, we understand there is a great deal of uncertainty and concern. We all hope that soon we can return to our active and social lifestyles that for many will include sports and recreation activities including the Big Sky State Games. The immediate focus however, must be on keeping your family safe and helping to stop the spread of the virus.

Thank you for patience and your continued participation in the Games.

Tournament will consist of a qualifying pool play or round robin.

Teams will be seeded, based on qualifier, into a single elimination bracket.

Singles and doubles competition. Depending on number of teams, tournament may be divided into an upper and lower division after pool play. BSSG follows the official ACO rule sheet and rule book at americancornhole.com. BSSG Commissioner reserves the right to change the tournament format based on entry numbers, space/time restrictions, or other circumstances.

Bracket Information

Download the Big Sky State Games app to get schedule information alerts and real-time scores with TeamSnap Tournaments. Click the links below to download the Big Sky State Games Tournaments app from the Google Play Store or Apple App Store:

1. Go to the Google Play Store or Apple App Store
2. In app sign in using your email address and follow our tournament, Big Sky State Games
3. Now you can see your favorite team, see division schedules and can receive real-time scores, updates and results.

Please note that you will not receive real-time alerts unless you are on the app

Boards will be placed 27 feet apart for all divisions.

The court layout consists of two (2) player’s lanes. Lane 1 - Designated pitchers boxes, on the left side of the board when your back is to the scoring tower. Lane 2 - Designated pitchers boxes, on the right side of the board when your back is to the scoring tower Cornhole. Cornhole Pitchers Boxes - A designated pitchers box is a 4’x 3’area at each end of the court and on both sides of each board; (4) boxes in all. Cornhole Foul Lines: The front edge of the cornhole board is the foul line.

The approved method of scoring for the sport of cornhole is “cancelation” scoring. In cancelation scoring, the points of one player cancel out the points of their opponent. Using this method, only one player/team can score in each frame. A “cornhole” is a bag that goes into the hole and is worth 3 points. A “woody” is a bag that rests on the board and is worth 1 point.

There will be a coin flip to decide who will be “home team”. Home team has the following advantages: They will have first choice on bag color/brand. They will pitch first. They will have first choice of the following two options: Option A-Choose lane assignments or Option B- Choose their opponent to pitch against (head-to-head). If option A is selected, the higher seed chooses their lane and takes their positions in the Pitcher’s boxes, then the lower seeded team chooses their own Pitcher’s boxes to determine head-to-head match-ups. If Option B is selected, the lower seed chooses their lane and takes their positions in the Pitcher’s boxes, then the higher seeded team will choose their own Pitcher’s boxes to determine head-to-head match-ups.

The team that scored in the previous frame will pitch first in the next frame. If neither team scores in a frame, then the team that pitched first in the previous frame pitches first again.

The tournament will consist of a qualifying pool play or round robin. Then based on qualifier, all teams will be seeded into a single elimination bracket.

First Team to 21 wins (no bust, no win by 2, no skunk,). Both pool play and bracket play will consist of 1 single game.

Players feet must remain behind the foul line (at the front of the board)

Bags that touch the ground before or while rested on the board will be foul bags and should be cleared immediately.

Players must deliver the bag with an underhand release.

Teammates must stand in the same lane at opposite boards throughout the whole game and may not switch ends. Each player will throw four bags each inning. Players will alternate throwing bags until all bags have been thrown.

Most importantly…Scoring MUST be agreed upon by players BEFORE any bag is moved. If a player moves a bag before his opponent agrees upon the score, the non-offending team will score the frame as if they have made 4 cornholes.

Any discrepancies in rules or scoring must be discussed with an official before play continues.

BSSG reserves the right to change the tournament format based on entry numbers, space/time restrictions, or other circumstances.

Gold, Silver, and Bronze Medals to top three teams in each division