Cornhole scoring is straightforward once you get cancellation scoring down. Here's how every point counts.
Point Values
Bag in the hole: 3 points. If the bag goes through the hole without touching the board first, that's an airmail. Same 3 points, but your opponents know you meant it.
Bag on the board: 1 point. Any bag resting on the board surface counts. Hanging over the edge? Still 1 point — as long as it doesn't touch the ground.
Bag off the board: 0 points. Hit the ground, bounced off, slid off — doesn't matter. It's dead.
Cancellation Scoring
This is the part that trips people up. After each round, you don't just add points. You cancel them.
How it works: Take each team's round total. Subtract the lower score from the higher score. Only the team that scored more gets points, and they only get the difference.
Example: Team A throws 2 bags in (6 pts) and 1 on the board (1 pt) = 7 total. Team B throws 1 bag in (3 pts) and 2 on the board (2 pts) = 5 total. Team A scores 7 − 5 = 2 points for the round. Team B scores 0.
If both teams score the same in a round, nobody gets points. That's a wash.
Bust Rule
Some leagues play with a bust rule: if your score exceeds 21, it resets to 15. This adds a layer of strategy late in the game — you might intentionally throw off-target to avoid busting.
BagTrax lets you toggle bust on or off per game. Set it before the first throw.
Winning
First team to exactly 21 points wins. With cancellation scoring, games typically run 12–20 rounds. Close matches go longer. Blowouts end fast.
Scoring with BagTrax
Tap each throw as it happens: in, on, or off. BagTrax does the cancellation math, tracks the running score, and saves stats for every player. No paper scorecards. No "wait, what's the score?" Start a game and see.