In recent weeks, bags of corn have been thrown enthusiastically in a room in Odiliapeel. The village has been introduced to a new game called ‘cornhole’. Nard Manders (32) brought the game, where you have to throw a bag of corn into a hole, from America. “It’s nice that so many people are enthusiastic.” He even wants to set up an association.
If you go to De Beukenhof café in Odiliapeel on a Friday evening, corn bags will fly around your ears. The new game, which is played while enjoying a beer, is becoming popular in the village. “I don’t have any tactics yet. Just throw and you’ll be fine,” says one of the players.
“It’s easy to play. Above all, it’s about having fun together,” says Nard. He discovered cornhole while traveling through America and couldn’t get enough of it. Although he still needs some practice. “That’s what I got beaten up in the pub,” says Nard, laughing.
The rules are simple. You take a bag of corn, also called the ‘flat bag’, stand eight meters from a board with a hole in it and try to throw the bag into it. Players throw alternately. If you hit, you get three points. If the bag remains on the board, you get a point. The first to reach 21 points wins the game.
“It’s still in its infancy.”
Once back in Odiliapeel, Nard missed the game. He decided that those around him should also be introduced to cornhole. Nard made the signs himself and asked the youth council, which is committed to the youth of the village, to help. Together they now organize an evening of cornhole every two weeks in the local party center.
It was intended as a test, to see if enough people liked the game. But it has now turned out to be a success. “A maximum of 25 people can play, spread over five courts. We now have 24 people participating,” says co-initiator Hans Adam (37). Nard is happy that the game is catching on. “It’s nice to see so many people who are enthusiastic.”
Nard and Hand now even want to start an association. It should be called Cornhole Association Odiliapeel, although a competition against other associations is not an option, because there are hardly any other clubs. “The game is still in its infancy, so a real competition will take several years,” says Hans. For the time being, they are sticking to mutual competitions. “At the end of the season we will see who is on top.”