The Court

The Bocce court at Il Vagabondo is one of the only indoor courts in a restaurant in all of New York. The court was originally built in the early 1900's by Ernie Vogliano's grandfather. Unlike outdoor courts traditionally made of crushed stone or shells this court is made of a clay surface and is a little narrower than the standard size.

Also as there are diners close by we ask the players to roll and not throw the balls so that stray balls do not find their way into plates of pasta. The pallino the smaller ball that is the target has been replaced by a large metal washer at Il Vagabondo again to insure that there are no errant flying balls.

The Rules

At Il Vagabondo you must be 18 years of age or older to enter the bocce court.

Please do not gamble as this is illegal.

Games can be played one-on-one (singles), pairs (doubles), singles are played with each person throwing 4 balls and alternating use of each end of the court. In doubles (pairs), each team member throws 2 balls and again alternate use of each end of the court or a single member of each team is at each end of the court and will throw all 4 balls for their team. Whne their round is finished the other two players at the other end of the court will play back towards the 2 members who started.

The goal is to get your balls as close to the marker (the large metal washer) as possible. You can hit the opponents balls out of the way in doing so. Only one team scores and that is the team with the closest ball to the marker. If the second closest ball is of the same color and team as the closest another point is awarded to that team, and so on for the 4 balls. Once the opponent has a ball closer than the winning team's ball the scoring for that round ends. For example:

Red is closest and has the second closest ball, green has the third closest ball. Red scores 2 points and green zero. Only the winning team scores.

Games are usually played to 11 points.