Solent Branch Boules Rules
PETANQUE
Petanque, the most popular bowling game in France, is better known
outside its home country by the more colloquial name “Boules”.
The modern game is thought to have descended from a
centuries-old version traditionally played on beaches by
sailors on shore leave, in which cannon balls were used in
place of today’s specially-made balls.
AIM
Players
throw the steel balls (boules) as
close as possible to a smaller wooden ball (the cochonnet
or jack), whilst trying to
displace their rivals’ boules
to a further point.
PITCH
Pétanque
is traditionally played on a
sun-baked clay pitch of about 12 metres in length. There are
strict rules about this in competition, but the vast
majority of participants play for fun, using whatever ground
is available, typically a beach, lawn, or gravel driveway.
It
is important that the surface used is not solid (such as a
pavement or road).
EQUIPMENT
Eight
boules are
supplied as four pairs, each pair with a distinguishing
pattern to identify it to a particular player. A ruler is
useful for measuring small differences in distance
(traditionally, this has special markings and is called a baguette).
PLAYERS
Pétanque
can be played by two, three,
or four people.
A
two person game is played using four boules
each.
A
three person game is played using two boules
each.
A
four person game can be played using two boules
each, or (more usually) with
two teams.
PLAY
A
coin is tossed to decide who goes first.
Standing
at one end of the pitch, the first player marks their
position by scratching a circle in the ground around them
(originally with the baguette).
From this circle they throw
the cochonnet such
that it lands in the furthest third of the pitch, but not
within im (39”) of the boundary. If the cochonnet
does not land in an
appropriate position, it must be thrown again by the same
player until it does.
Remaining
in position, the first player throws one boule
toward the cochonnet,
aiming to get as close as
possible.
Subsequent
players (or teams) now take turns to throw their boules.
The
first player (or their team) only re-commences play with
their remaining boules when
and if another person gets a boule
closer than their original
throw, after which all parties play in turn.
SCORING
One
round of a game is called an end.
In
each end, the
party with the closest boule to
the cochonnet wins.
They score one point for each of their boules that is closer
than the closest boule belonging to a rival (so score could
be one only). The maximum score for a two player/team game
during one end is
thus four points (if all the boules
of one team are closer to the cochonnet
than any of those belonging to
opponents). A whole game is won by scoring 13 points
(requiring at least four ends).
The
winner of an end becomes
the first player of the next, starting from the finishing
position of the cochonnet in
the previous end.