As 80-year-old Joe Dimambro took out his tape measure, players on the city’s over-55 bocce league waited during a recent game as he gauged which bocce ball was closest to the smaller, white “pallino” ball. While the seniors may not be cutthroat competitors, they still wanted to know who was the most accurate. However, the main draw for the bocce players each Monday is friendship.

“I like the camaraderie,” said Ellie Donovan, 82, who has played for five years. “And it’s good exercise.” Bocce involves two teams and nine balls. One player throws a small ball, called a pallino, down the court. Players then alternate tossing the other eight balls, which are about the size of a softball, trying to get as close as possible to the smaller ball. The person who throws the closest ball and his or her teammates whose balls are closer than their opponents earn points.