Cornhole, also known as bean bag toss or sack toss, is a game in which two or more players or teams throw bags into a raised, angled board with a hole in it. The first player or team to score 21 points wins the match. Bags that land on the board, but don’t make it into the hole, are worth one point; bags in the hole are worth three points. The game was popularized in modern times by fans of the Cincinnati Bengals and is now played at all professional football stadiums during pre-game tailgating parties. It’s also found in backyards, parks, college dorm rooms and apartments, and in restaurants, bars, and lounges across the country.
The rules of the game are simple: each inning (or frame) consists of throwing all of your assigned bags. The goal is to score a bag in the “hole,” which must come to rest completely inside the platform, or a “four-bagger,” when all of your four bags fall into the hole. The game is played with boards positioned about 30 ft apart for adults and 10 ft. for kids. Touching, adjusting, or aligning the boards is not allowed and is considered a foul.
From the makers of the latest PBA Pro Bowling video game, ACL Pro Cornhole attempts to bring the burgeoning niche sport into the realm of virtual gaming. Unfortunately, it fails to deliver. The sluggish and uninspiring gameplay loop only holds your attention for so long. And the spartan visuals, which look like they’re running in back-compat mode on an Xbox 360, and lacklustre commentary from real-life ACL pros Trey Ryder and Bernie Nabors, aren’t enough to make up for it.