Yes, from Sanibel and Fort Myers Beach down to Naples-and especially on Vanderbilt Beach-this ancient game, played by millions in Europe, has carved out a popular niche.

"It's just a great way to enjoy the beach and good friends," says Sera Lucente, of Naples, one of a large group of bocce-lovers who gather almost daily at Vanderbilt Beach. "Playing bocce and watching the sunset-the two just seem to go together."

Unsuspecting visitors to Vanderbilt Beach could close their eyes on a late afternoon and almost think they had been transported to Italy. A boom box perched on a boardwalk railing plays Italian folk songs. And the conversation-always lively-shuttles between Italian and English.

"Buena serra, Marie," a woman greets a friend, who is arriving with chaise lounges and a picnic basket, all the better for enjoying the friendly competition.

"Bravo, Luigi!" shouts a man watching the game. "Great shot! Bravissimo!"

Bocce had its birth on Vanderbilt Beach about nine years ago when some members of the local Italian-American Club decided they wanted to enjoy their sport in a more casual setting than the club's official bocce courts. Nowadays, the players hail from, well, all over the place.

"We got folks from Canada, we got folks from Brooklyn, from the Bronx. We got folks from Massachusetts and the Midwest. People everywhere, they love bocce," says John Lucente, Sera's husband.

Bocce is thought to have originated in Egypt at least 4,000 years ago, but later spread to Greece and Rome. The Romans were said to have played the game using coconuts, brought from Africa, as the balls. Later the balls were made from hard olivewood.

The rules of the game are simple: There are two equal teams, comprised of one, two or four players. One of the players tosses a small yellow ball, called the "pallino," to the far end of the court, which is typically about 60-70 feet long. Then the teams compete to see which can toss its balls closest to the pallino.

Of course, the various strategies-the plotting for position, the laserlike accuracy of some of the players in knocking the competition's balls out of the way-make bocce a much more complex game than it might seem.

And while the beach games are good-natured, one of the players, who carries a folding yardstick in his back pocket, is frequently called upon to settle disputes.

"The arguments never last long and no one takes them seriously," says John Lucente. "Bocce is competitive, yes, but what it is really about is friendship."