Ultimate Affordable Backyard Lawn Game

This lawn game is really easy to put together if you have some scrap plywood around. I wanted to make a game that was easy and fun, and perfect for all ages. It features a leaning board with four differently sized holes for various points, and I also made four sacks in leather for tossing into the holes. The board can easily be moved and you can throw from various distances for different degrees of difficulty.

So first up, cutting some plywood for the different pieces.

For two of the pieces, the angle on the saw was placed at 13 degrees, to create a slight angle that the board could lean sturdily on.

Here are all the pieces that I'm going to be using for the board.

24 x 36 inches (610 x 915 mm)
13 degree incline 4 in in front, 14 inch rear (100 x 1400 mm)

I used screws to assemble the board together with a back, front and leaning board. I also used an angled piece underneath to prevent the board from warping.

I decided to make four holes, of different sizes, and I used a large compass to draw them out.

3" - 75mm

4" - 100mm

5" - 125m

5.5" - 140mm

I used a jig saw to cut the holes out.

Since this is going to be outside, I wanted to make sure I spackled all pocket holes, to prevent moisture from affecting the plywood. And then some paint on all sides.

I sketched out some circles around each hole and numbers, and then I painted each one in different colors, although I used a silver color on the inside of each ring. Mostly I was going for bright and colorful.

OK, and throw with I decided to make some leather pouches, this is scrap leather pieces, but of course if you don't have that around, you can just use any fabric or vinyl instead.

So I folded a piece in half, and cut rounded corners, then punched holes and started sewing it shut using heavy duty waxed thread. I looked around at some websites where they sold cornhole games, and it seemed like the bags tended to break a lot, so I wanted to make something pretty durable.

I'm sewing with a saddle stitch which is really strong. When I had sewn about 3/4s the way, I filled with some stones, and tried to pack as many in as possible. And then finished the stitching.

To see the final result, make sure to check out the video!

Here are the rules we came up with for the game, however feel free to make your own!

Game Rules & Design
I. Each person has 4 turns.

II. A round is worth one point, no matter the totals.

III. If you call out the value beforehand the point value doubles, otherwise no points are awarded.

IV. If you complete the cycle in a single round the point values double. (1, 3, 10, 20) V. These rules apply for any agreed upon throwing distance.