Cornhole

Two women play cornhole aboard a Carnival cruise ship.

If you don't know what you're looking at, then you don't live in the American midwest. These women are playing a game of cornhole -- a beanbag toss game that arguably has its roots in Cincinnati. It started as a backyard game, similar to horseshoes in play and scoring, but now it's become so popular that you can find cornhole sets at bars, restaurants, corporate outings, and even on a cruise ship where it was simply called "Bean Bag Toss Contest." Apparently they didn't read the backs of the boards where americancornhole.org was clearly printed.

To play cornhole, two opponents stand at the same end and take turns throwing each of their four cornhole bags. (And yes, they should be filled with corn.) Bags that land on the board score 1 point; those that go in the hole score 3 points. But bags cancel each other out. So if I got 2 bags on the board and 1 in the hole, but my opponent got 1 bag on the board and 1 in the hole, I would only earn one point for that round. The game goes to 21 exactly. If a player happens to go over 21, they subtract those extra points and now need more points to win.

It's simple really, and is played by people of all ages. It's a popular outdoor bar game, backyard barbecue game, team-building exercise, seniors activity, as well as a game played at school carnivals. It's become so popular that there are cornhole tournaments springing up all over the country. Some of the prize monies are pretty high. And the cornhole boards themselves don't come cheap. Around here a custom-made board (which you can find advertised in people's yards as you drive around Cincinnati) runs between $75-125.

So if you haven't heard of cornhole yet, you can bet that it's headed your way. Who knows, you may even see it televised someday. Or entered as an Olympic game. It's already shown up as "Cornhole: The Movie." It's a grassroots phenomenon finding its way around the globe.