Two people compete head-to-head each game. The player with the most points wins.

 

Row One buckets are worth one point. 

 

Row Two buckets are worth 5 points. 

 

Row Three buckets are worth 10 points. 

 

Row Four buckets are worth 25 points.

 

There are also two Golden Buckets. If you get your beanbag in these buckets, you get 50 points.

 

You cannot throw more than one of your beanbags into the same bucket. If you do, those rule-breaking points won't be counted.

 

If you get a beanbag in one of each of the four rows, you get a 20-point Buckets Bonus.

 

The beanbags are tossed one-at-a-time, and alternate from Player 1 to Player 2.

 

There are two colours of beanbags. Red and Blue. Blue goes first. The deciding factor for who gets the blue beanbags is first name, alphabetical order. 

 

There are also Golden Beanbags! Golden Beanbags will be added to the players' tossing piles and all bucket points will be doubled for these very special bags. Toss them wisely.

 

The number of beanbags and golden beanbags per round will vary by round.

 

Both feet must be behind the Tossing Line when tossing the beanbag. There are harsh consequences for foot faults.

 

Should the sheer might of your throw cause the bucket to fall over on its side upon impact with the beanbag… if more than 50% of the beanbag remains "inside" the bucket the points will count. If more than 50% of the beanbag is outside the bucket, no points will count. The attending official will decide. If you heckle the attending official they have the ability to take away as many points from you as they feel appropriate based on your heckling.

 

If, at the end of the round's beanbag throws, the score is tied then there is a tie-breaking five bag toss-off. Yes. A toss-off.

 

None of the buckets in Row One are available, however, in the toss-off. No beanbags thrown into these buckets will count. Forgetting this rule will not permit you to redo your toss. You just wasted an incredibly valuable beanbag. Way to go.

 

If the score is still tied at the end of the toss-off… then there will be a tie-breaking Rock Paper Scissors exchange between the two competitors. You go on Three. Not One Two Three Go. One Two Go. This is a best one-out-of-one. If there is a tie… the Rock Paper Scissors continues until someone mercifully loses.

 

All these rules will be repeated on Saturday. Rules are subject to change based on the referees ability to remember them all. The referee is the supreme, ultimate boss of the event.

 

This is a bracket-based competition. If you lose in the first round, you will go into the consolation round, also known as The Loser Round… it's for losers who lose at things.

 

The brackets will be created on the morning of the event based on confirmed attendance. This is why it's important to let me know who is coming ahead of time.

 

The brackets are always wonky because we never have the ideal number of players for a clean 32-person bracket. But that's cool. We make do and have fun. Don't be so rigid.

 

Before the Championship Game, there will be a Not The Winner Championship Game - one game for the two loser-winners.

 

The winner of this gets the Not The Winner trophy. It is a beautiful token of how close you came to winning. You get to keep this trophy for one year and must bring it back when you compete in the following year.

 

Once we're done with the losers, there will be a Championship Round - one game for the two remaining winners. The winner of this final game gets the Southampton Cup. The loser gets squat.

 

If you win the Championship Round… congrats! You are this year's winner of Buckets & BBQ. You will be awarded the coveted and beautiful Southampton Cup. You keep the trophy for one whole year but must return it when you defend your title at next year's Buckets & BBQ.