How do I run a cornhole tournament?

My company has a trade show coming up in 2 weeks. As a way to drive traffic to our meeting room, we are going to host a cornhole tournament. We will have 2 sets of boards to use. Having never staged such an event, I would welcome ideas on how to make it fun but also quick. We'll have limited time (maybe 2 hours?) where we'll need to cycle through a lot of players. There is a pretty significant cash prize going to the winner (to drum up excitement). 

My initial thinking is something like March Madness. Anyone who wants to participate signs up and gets randomly paired against another player. We do something quick - like first player to 6 wins. Winners move on, losers go home.

Having never attempted anything remotely like this, I'm all ears!

Cornhole scoring sometimes catches people off-guard. Familiarize yourself with it. 
 

Basically, only 1 team can score each round. If you have 3 points and I have 5, I get scored 2 points (my points minus yours).  If we both score the same, neither one scores. 
 

If you are doing this indoors, you probably won't have enough space for "regulation".  Modify the rules enough to have fun. 

The "regulation" rules say you can't go over. If you go past 21, you are bumped down to 15 and keep playing. 
 

I'd get rid of that rule. It's fun, but makes the games go long. 
 

In the interest of moving the games along quicker, I'd make the goal 11 points instead of 21.

Offer lots of lube, a safewor...

wait, wrong corn hole. 

• Make sure the rules (including scoring - with examples) are posted
• Make sure the rules (including scoring - with examples) are posted
• Make people register with your lead retrieval to play
• Make sure the rules (including scoring - with examples) are posted

But honestly - don't do it.  You will look like clowns (unless this is a clown trade show - then have at it).  The companies that do things like this are always the bottom tier companies that get laughed at by their competitors.  I have seen a lot of real stupid stuff.

• Sports jerseys (football during the spring - hur de durrr)
• Hawaiian shirts and making tropical drinks mid-day (great way for all your sales guys to get faced)
• Air hockey competition
• Models that were picked up at the local topless establishment demoing products in your booth the next day (yeah I saw you last night, honey)

Want a successful trade show?  Build a better booth than your competitors.  Staff it with driven, diligent sales people.  Don't go out and drink on the company dime the night before.  Cull out salespeople who party too much.  They might be great at one-on-one sales but are garbage at shows.  Explain the expectations upfront (attendance, dress code, hours, lead retrieval, not eating in booths, etc)  I am rarely one for decorum and procedure, but a successful trade show requires it.  

In reply to 93gsxturbo :

Very true. The scoring can cause fights, especially if alcohol is involved. 

In reply to 93gsxturbo :

I don't know how to run a trade show, but I did notice that you remembered all those companies! 

Just because, I asked ChatGPT.

Query: Create structure and rules for a march madness bracket-style cornhole tournament

ChatGPT: A March Madness bracket-style cornhole tournament can be an exciting and fun event. Here's a basic structure and ruleset to help you organize one:

Structure:

1. Tournament Format: The tournament will follow a single-elimination format, similar to the NCAA March Madness basketball tournament. Teams will be seeded based on their skill level or a random draw, and they will compete in a bracket until a champion is determined.

2. Team Size: Each team will consist of two players. This is the standard cornhole team size.

3. Bracket Size: The size of the bracket will depend on the number of teams participating. Ideally, try to have a power of two (e.g., 16, 32, 64 teams) for a neat bracket structure. If necessary, you can have play-in games to fill the bracket.

4. Venue: Secure a suitable venue with enough space for multiple cornhole boards. Ensure there is enough seating for spectators.

5. Equipment: Provide regulation cornhole boards and bags for the tournament. Make sure the boards are set up at a regulation distance (27 feet apart from front edge to front edge) and height (12 inches from the ground to the top of the board).

Rules:

1. Scoring: Use standard cornhole scoring rules. Each bag that lands on the board is worth one point, and a bag that goes through the hole is worth three points. Points cancel out (e.g., if one team scores 5 points and the other scores 3, the first team receives 2 points for that round). The team that scores the most points in a round wins that round.

2. Winning a Match: A team wins the match when they score 21 points or more and have a lead of at least two points. If a match reaches 21 points but does not have a two-point lead, the game continues until one team achieves a two-point lead.

3. Coin Toss: To determine who goes first, flip a coin or have a simple coin toss. The winning team gets to choose whether to throw first or second in the first round.

4. Order of Play: The team that throws first in one round should throw second in the next round. Alternate the order of play for each round within a game.

5. Fouls: If a player crosses the foul line while throwing, the throw does not count. If a bag hits the ground and bounces onto the board, it does not count.

6. Time Limit: Set a time limit for each match, typically around 30 minutes. If a match is not completed within the time limit, the team with the most points at that point wins.

7. Bracket Advancement: The team that wins a match advances to the next round of the bracket, while the losing team is eliminated.

8. Tiebreakers: In case of a tie (e.g., both teams reach 21 points in the same round), play a sudden-death round with the first team to score any points winning the match.

9. Sportsmanship: Encourage sportsmanship among players and spectators. Unsportsmanlike conduct, including excessive arguing or disruptive behavior, should not be tolerated.

10. Prizes: Consider offering prizes for the top-performing teams, such as trophies, cash prizes, or gift cards.

Remember to have a scoring and bracket system in place to keep track of the tournament's progress, and announce the schedule in advance so participants know when their matches are scheduled. With these rules and structure in place, you can host an exciting March Madness bracket-style cornhole tournament.

Regulation cornhole boards are 48" and 27' apart.  Probably too big for indoor. 
 

Also, whichever team scored last starts the round. So, if Team A scores a point, then they go a few rounds tied, Team A continues to start the rounds. 

"King of the hill" might go faster than tournament brackets. 

93gsxturbo said: Don't go out and drink on the company dime the night before. 

 And now you took away the one reason to go to a trade show. As an engineer who has to stand in a booth and pretend to not be an antisocial engineer, I'll take my drink as a reward tyvm. 

Still blows my mind you guys call it cornhole.

In reply to 93gsxturbo :

I have to agree, the gimmick and game deal is a turn off to real customers. I did the show circuit for a long time in machine tools. A give away that people can see getting made is cool but that's about it for me. I still have a bottle opener from Chiron that was made in less than 45 seconds and a arrow shaped sheet metal piece from Mazak that shows how small laser cuts can be, you have to hold it to the light to see the holes. 
I don't have much else from shows. 
 

Also if you insist on doing it I would have 1 board, a few throws and a top score. If you want to have a throw off amongst the top scorers at the end of the day it could generate some excitement. 

#3 for don't do it. Like others have said, it's a dead giveaway you've never done a trade show before. 

I've done a lot of trade shows - the tips  93gsxturbo guy presented are spot on.  

Trouble is people say they are coming by but might not.  Might mess up your plans.   

At the UMI king of the mountain, they run a cornhole tournament.  Each game is first to 21, you don't get reset for going over.  Just set up a bracket and play, some teams may get a bye.  It happens.

All we do for gimmes is some bottle openers that we cut on our laser with our logo and contact info on it.  Costs a few pesos and kind of cool.  We actually don't give much away.

I have been doing industrial equipment trade shows for my entire real career - 15 years or so now.  Involved in everything from booth design and ordering to setup and teardown to hotel rooms to lead generation, qualification, and retrieval. Not little booths - biggest one we did was 30x50 and took 5 guys a week to build.  It came in on 9 semis.  Most of our booths are 30x30 or 20x30 - 3-4 semis.  3 days to build. Staffed with 6-10 sales and technical sales.  And we put on a damn good show.  Covers of industry magazines.  Promos for other shows.  Lots of business.