This article appears in the June 2015 edition of the United States Bocce Federation Western Sector Newsletter.

From time to time people come up with new ideas to enhance the game of bocce. Sometimes these ideas are actually incorporated into the rules by the governing bodies of the sport. Most of these ideas become fads and play eventually reverts back to the standard rules that have been adopted for a given club. Sometimes, though, it is fun to try new ideas and see if they add some pizazz to the game.

Our friend Jimmy Dunne at the Bel-Air Bay Club in Pacific Palisades wrote and explained a new scoring wrinkle that they have added to their league rules. They call it “Rolling The Bay.” It sounded like a fun way to add a little more excitement to the game of open so I decided to write about it this month to give different perspective on the game of open.

The opportunity to roll the bay comes up when a team is left holding the last ball to be played in a frame and is holding two or more points on the floor. The player can declare that he or she is going to “roll the bay.” The player must then play for another point and the ball that is played must make the point. If the point is made, the team ends up with an extra or bonus point. If the last ball does not make a point, the team loses a point. It is like doubling down in blackjack. Some have compared it to the more difficult two-point conversion in football. The extra point after a touchdown is now almost automatic in that 99.5% of all attempts score one point. When the team gambles on the two-pointer, they either make two or get no points.

As an example, the team with the last ball has two points on the floor with one ball left to play. After the declaration to roll the bay, the player makes the third point with the last ball. The team receives a bonus point and the score at the end of the frame is now four. If the player did not make the point with the ball the team would lose one point and the score at the end of the frame would be one.

The only requirement is that the last ball played must end up being the additional point. By far, the most common way to do this is by rolling for point or lagging. Another way to make an extra point might be to shoot the pallino down. This only works if the team’s two or more point balls are deeper or closer to the far end than their opponent’s balls. Then the shot ball can be counted as a point if it ends up closer to the pallino than any opponent’s ball. An extremely rare method of making the additional point would be to shoot an opponent’s ball out of the way and stick the shot ball. This requires a great amount of skill and is a very risky move because if the shot ball does not stick and goes down with the opponent’s ball, the team will lose a point.

Mr. Dunne tells us that rolling the bay is purely optional and not mandatory. Some situations lend themselves to this tactic and sometimes it is not a very good strategy. It is solely up to the playing team holding the last ball. Many players in other areas refer to the last ball to be played as the “hammer.” This twist gives new meaning to the term and makes the hammer a much heavier tool!

When a team has three points on the floor and makes the declaration to roll the bay, the folks at the Bel Air Bay Club refer to this as a cinco. If the point is made the team will make five points. This play generates a lot of excitement and the player yells out, “cinco!” People on the other courts stop to watch and a crowd usually gathers around the court to cheer the player on or hope for a miss depending on which team they are rooting for. The cinco attempt is very rare and Mr. Dunne says that it is fun to watch when it happens.

This twist can have a big impact on a game when a team rolls the bay and the bonus point becomes the winning point. It is kind of like a field goal as time expires in a football game.

Mr. Dunne is not suggesting that the USBF change the open rules but mentions that once they started using the “rolling the bay” option it caught on and they cannot imagine playing any other way. If this idea ever catches on in Northern California, players might have the San Francisco Bay in mind when they “roll the bay” even though the ploy was named after the Santa Monica Bay!