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Score! Old-Timey Lawn Games Pop Up in High-End Homes

More homeowners are adding bocce, horseshoes, shuffleboard and croquet to their landscaping

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Once the province of retirees and the occasional Brooklyn hipster, a host of laid-back lawn games are finding their way into high-end home landscaping.

Take bocce, the Italian game in which players compete to get their ball closest to a target ball called a pallino. Cherie and Keith Hughes "got caught up in the bocce craze" playing the game at friends’ homes, then decided to build their own court under an oak tree on their 23-acre property in California’s Sonoma County.

Accessed by gravel walking paths and flanked by chairs and a bench for spectators, their court, made with crushed oyster shells, is nestled among raised vegetable gardens and fruit trees. "It really became a destination," said Ms. Hughes, 67, who said she and her husband created an informal Sunday evening bocce league with friends. Their home is now listed for $9.95 million because they are moving to a smaller property in town.

An increasing number of homeowners are paying handsomely to install courts for bocce, horseshoes, shuffleboard and croquet. The trend is driven in part by aging baby boomers looking for less strenuous activities, but these games have also experienced a surge in popularity among younger people.

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Bocce in particular: The game is now a staple at Northern California wineries and has started popping up at bars and restaurants in the area. Louis Treesh of Heavenly Greens, a synthetic-turf installation company in San Jose, Calif., said in the past two years his company has seen a 50% increase in orders for residential bocce courts.

Enthusiasts say these relaxed pastimes promote bonding with family and friends of all ages and fitness levels—especially since they can be played with a glass of wine in hand.

"It’s a little bit active, a little bit physical but not serious, intense competition," said money manager David Cohen, 60, who spent about $10,000 to install an outdoor shuffleboard court by the pool at his home in Westport, Conn. "These games offer a social interaction that allows people to connect in a real way."

The popularity of lawn games also dovetails with the trend toward more elaborate, amenity-packed landscaping. These games take up a lot less room than a basketball or tennis court—and are often more attractive. The Hugheses said part of the allure of having a bocce court is that it is "aesthetically pleasing" and fits into the village-like setting they had envisioned for the property.

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To blend in with his Tuscan-style home in Houston, Texas, Mark Muller’s bocce court is topped with a wrought-iron arbor draped with vines and strung with lanterns. "It doesn’t look out of place—it is lawn art as much as a game," said Mr. Muller, 59, who works in private equity. The home is now listed, for $7.495 million, because his family has moved to Austin. Their new house has horseshoes but not a bocce court, so he said they’re planning to build one.

The cost of integrating lawn games into the landscape varies widely. A basic horseshoe or bocce court can be installed for a few thousand dollars, but more elaborate projects can cost six figures. That is especially true when they involve lighting, seating or playing surfaces made from turf and other synthetic materials, which are becoming more popular for their durability, said Mr. Treesh.

Philip Park of Bocce Builders of America said the 10-year-old company recently installed two 91-foot-long bocce courts with synthetic playing surfaces at a home in San Luis Obispo, Calif., at a cost of about $200,000. The company also installs custom scoreboards for residential bocce courts, he said.

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Marilyn McRae’s 1.6-acre hillside property in the Hope Ranch area of Santa Barbara County has a horseshoe court and a bocce court she dubbed the "Pasquale Cocciante Bocci Ball Court" after her Italy-born grandfather. Her memories of watching him play bocce "really stayed with me," she said.

The playing surface of her court is decomposed granite, and the court is bounded by Santa Barbara stone, according to Ms. McRae’s landscape architect, Charles McClure. Benches at either end provide seats for players, and next to the court is a curtained pergola covered with vines, to provide shade for observers. The court is lighted to allow nighttime play.

Outdoor games can provide a focal point for family members of all generations. Terry and Karie Wood wanted to make sure their grandchildren learned to play chess, so they installed a giant chess set in their backyard. Now the 3-foot-tall chess pieces, set on squares of stone and grass, are an integral part of their ½-acre property in the suburbs of Salt Lake City.

The Woods have 12 children and 46 grandchildren, so keeping the children occupied was a major priority when they renovated their seven-bedroom home. After buying the house in 2008, they spent roughly $100,000 to put in a retaining wall to make the site more level.

Then came the fun stuff: The chess set, which cost about $1,800, also came with checkers, each about the size of "a large pizza," Ms. Wood said. They also installed an in-ground trampoline, a swim spa, a covered fire pit for s’mores, a putting green and a greenhouse.

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The chess set will come with them to the 3-acre ranch they recently bought elsewhere in Utah. They have put this home on the market for $1.399 million.

Of course, children aren’t the only ones who enjoy these games. As a birthday surprise for his wife, Jan, health-care executive Bill Sanger trucked in 80 tons of white sand to create a beach volleyball court on their roughly 3-acre property in Vero Beach, Fla. The home is now on the market for $11.95 million.

The court is a magnet not just for their children and grandchildren, but for nearly everyone who visits the property, Mr. Sanger said. As for his wife? "She’s got a pretty mean spike."

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