As you may or may not have noticed, Midwest Sports Fans recently signed up a new sponsor: Big Time Game Boards. As many sponsors do, BTGB and its owner Kyle Whitling paid for a banner advertisement, which you can see over in the sidebar. And if BTGB was a company that produced something boring like internal audit software or Tim Duncan’s biography, I probably would have just left it that.

But you see, Big Time Game Boards actually produces a product that is exciting, that brings back very fond memories for me of my glorious college days in Bloomington, and that truly makes the world a better and more enjoyable place. So I’m dedicating a whole post to it.

So what is it that Big Time Game Boards does? (In case you couldn’t tell from the picture…)

Custom cornhole boards. Hell yeah.

Big Time Game Boards is an Ohio-based producer and seller of customized cornhole boards. Here is their official description from the website:

Big Time Game Boards was founded in 2003 by Kyle Whitling. The company was founded after tailgating at a Browns vs. Bengals game in Cincinnati. After one tailgate party where many beers were quaffed and many bags were thrown, the desire to supply the northeast ohio area with quality corn hole games was born. BTGB is one of the pioneers of custom logo and personalized corn hole sets. BTGB operates under Whitling Engineered Products, LLC.

Follow the link to learn more about the custom cornhole boards sold at Big Time Game Boards.

So you see, not only does Big Time Game Boards help Americans throughout the country tailgate like champions, but the company was born after a Browns game. This confluence of greatness was just too much pass up.

And really, don’t you think a game as great as cornhole deserves its own post on a blog for sports fans from the Midwest? Because to be honest, if you claim to be a Midwestern sports fan but have not played cornhole, we implore you to stop claiming the Midwest. You’re a fraud.

Hey, it is what it is.

For anyone unfamiliar with the great game of cornhole, here is handy YouTube video that includes footage of a tournament in Cincinnati and an explanation of cornhole rules to get you up to speed:

And, just for fun, here is another cornhole video of a game passing itself off as “Extreme Cornhole”. I am posting this video for two reasons. #1 – the stairwell they are throwing from looks frighteningly familiar to the one at the house I lived in my last two years of college; and #2 – they are obviously in need of a custom cornhole board. Anyway, here is the cornhole video:

And just in case you have never played cornhole, but are so inspired by the post that you are going to go to BTGB, buy a custom cornhole board, and then round up the neighbors for some good ‘ol drunken fun, here is a breakdown of the cornhole scoring rules, from BTGB:

6 Scoring
6.1 The score shall be taken after all bags have been thrown for a round.
6.2 Points shall be given as follows.
6.2.1 Three points for a bag that goes through the hole.
6.2.2 One point for a bag that is on the playing surface.
6.2.3 One point for a bag that is hanging into the hole.
6.2.4 One point for a bag that is hanging off the edge but not touching the ground.
6.2.5 Zero points for a bag that is on the playing surface, but also touching the ground.
6.2.6 Zero points for a bag that is hanging off the front edge and is resting on a bag that is on the ground, unless the bag on the ground can be removed without making the hanging bag fall to the ground, then one point is given.
6.3 Each team is given a round score according to section 6.2. The team with the highest round score, adds the difference of the two scores to their game score.
6.4 The team who wins the round is given honors to throw first in the next round.
6.5 If both teams have the same round score then the game score stays the same and honors stays with the team who had it the previous round.
6.6 The following is a possible scoring turn:
1st throw: Team A throws and it lands on the ramp, team B throws and it goes through the hole.
2nd throw: A goes through hole, B lands on ramp.
3rd throw: A lands on ramp knocking team B’s 2nd throw into hole, B lands on the ground. 4th throw: A lands on ramp, B lands on ramp knocking A’s 1st throw onto ground. A gets 5 pts and B gets 7 for the round, so B adds
7-5 = 2 pts to their game score and has honors for the next round.

Go to BTGB’s Playing the Game page for the complete rules to cornhole.

And finally, if you need a few more reasons to hop on over to BTGB and join the cornhole craze, here you go:

If you ever go to Ann Arbor, you can pad your cornhole victory totals by beating tools like these guys.

However, unlike at Michigan, if you travel to Columbus you might actually have some real competition from non-tools; namely Brutus.

But you’ll have to deal with the pressure of hot girls watching you. Did I mention that chicks dig cornhole? (Get your minds out of the gutters…I’m talking about the game, and you know it.)

And last but not least…

…because Peyton Manning lets himself go in the offseason and relaxes by playing cornhole. Don’t you think you should too?

KVB…the potshots at Michigan were for you buddy.

In all seriousness, cornhole is a great game. It’s perfect for college, for family gatherings, for tailgating, and even for wedding receptions…or hell, even at the wedding itself. What better way to test the bonds of matrimony than with a game of cornhole right there at the alter? Bride and groom against the best man and maid of honor. Or maybe guys versus girls would be better. I’ll let you decide.

But whatever you do, go check out Big Time Game Boards. Learn the game, find out where there are cornhole tournaments in Ohio, and customize a cool cornhole board for yourself or for a gift.