Carrom or Indian billiards is a precision game played between 2 players individually and between 4 players in teams over several rounds. The game consists of getting all your pieces into the holes before your opponent in order to score 25 points or win 8 rounds.
Goal of the game
- To get all your checkers in.
- To be the first to score 25 points or win 8 rounds.
Materials
- 1 Carrom board,
- 9 black pieces,
- 9 white pieces,
- 1 red piece; the queen.
Anatomy of Carrom
- In the 4 corners of the board are holes. The goal is to fit your pieces into them.
- In the center of the board is the center circle, usually red, where the queen is placed.
- Around the center circle is the outer circle where the rest of the pieces are placed.
- To shoot, you must place your puck in the shooting zone so that it touches both baselines.
- You can shoot from the shooting area, but not beyond the baseline.
- You can shoot from the base circle, as long as you cover it completely with the puck and as long as you never touch the diagonal arrows.
Set up
- Designate a first player to collect the white pieces.
- In an individual game, players stand across from each other.
- In a team game, teammates stand across from each other.
- Place the queen in the center of the Carrom.
- Alternating colors, place 6 pieces around the queen.
- Then place the rest of the pieces around the circle formed, still alternating colors and not going beyond the outer circle.
How do you play?
Use the puck to send your pieces into the holes.
Breaking the circle
- At the beginning of the game, the first player has to break the circle formed by the pieces.
- He/she is allowed 3 attempts to break the circle.
How to shoot?
- Only the hand and arm can touch the board, never the elbow.
- You can use your index finger, middle finger and thumb to send the puck.
- You can try to bounce the puck against the corners of the Carrom.
- You can send the puck backwards to bounce it.
Shot outcomes
- If you get one of your checkers into a hole, play again.
- If you get an opponent’s piece into a hole, pass the hand.
- After each shot, return the puck to the shooting area.
The Queen
- The queen must not be the last piece sent into a hole.
- After sending the queen into a hole, you must cover it with one of your checkers:
– If you fail, the queen is returned to the board.
– If you send the queen and another piece of your color to the hole simultaneously, it is considered covered. - If the winner of the round has sent the queen to the hole, he scores 3 points.
- If the loser has sent the queen to the hole, the 3 points are not due.
- As soon as a player scores 22 points, the 3 points are no longer due.
Fouls and penalties
Penalty
- A foul ends a player’s turn and results in a penalty.
- The penalty consists of returning one of your checkers that has been sent to a hole inside the circle. This is the penalty marker.
Deferred Penalty
- Please note! If a player has not yet sent any checkers into the hole and cannot present a penalty checker, the penalty is postponed.
- When a penalty is postponed, it applies as soon as a checker can be returned to the board.
Fouls
It is a foul when :
- The puck falls into a hole.
- The puck or a piece goes off the board.
- An opponent’s piece is sent to the hole.
- The puck and a pawn enter a hole.
- The queen and an opponent’s piece go into a hole, and the queen and a penalty piece return to the board.
- The last pawn is sent to a hole before the queen, the pawn and the penalty pawn return to the board.
- The last opponent’s piece is sent to a hole before or after the queen, the piece returns to the board.
- The player fails to break the circle in three attempts.
The points
- Points are determined by the number of checkers the opponent fails to enter.
– A pawn is worth 1 point.
– The queen is worth 3 points. - The winner is the first player to score 25 points or win 8 rounds.
End of the game
- The game ends as soon as a player scores 25 points or wins 8 rounds.
