Design Solutions for Bags Boards

Here is a tailgate set up for an Iowa State football game. There are bags boards out ready to be used. The challenge is what angle should we tilt the boards and how far apart they should be. At every game these circumstances are worked through using trial and error. If they are too far apart, the speed will be slower, and different angles impact how the direction the bag will land.

What is the optimal angle and distance for the bags boards?

• What happens to the bags if the boards are pulled too close?
• What happens to the bags if the boards are pulled too far apart?
• What happens to the bags if the boards are tilted too high or too low?

Students could:

• Make your own bags boards and bags to test it.
• Practice pulling real bags boards further apart or closer and see what happens when the bags hit the board.
• Practice tilting the real bags boards at different angles and see what happens when the bags hit the board.

• American Cornhole Organization | Official Cornhole Rules: Gives official distance and angle of bags boards
• Cornhole America | Frequently Asked Questions: Bags board distance and other questions
• Cornhole Express | Throwing Cornhole Bags from 50 Feet: Video of bags being thrown from 50 feet apart.