Boules

Players and equipment

Singles, doubles or triples: two, four or six players. A set of steel boules, three each in singles and doubles and two each in triples, a jack (the cochonnet), and a patch of gravel or flat ground. This is pétanque as most gardens play it; bocce, with its bigger balls and a marked court, is scored the same way.

A boule is a hollow steel ball about the size of a large orange, and each side's set carries its own pattern of grooves so the two can be told apart. The jack is a small wooden ball. A tape measure settles the close ones.

SquareScores keeps the score: a row is an end, a column is a player or a team, and the line is thirteen unless the host moves it.

The deal

Toss for the first throw. The winner draws a circle on the ground, throws the jack six to ten metres, and throws the first boule. From then on the side that is not nearest the jack throws next.

The circle is about half a metre across. The jack must land between six and ten metres from it and at least a metre from any wall, tree or kerb; if it does not, the other side places it by hand, and the side that threw it still throws the first boule.

Play

Throw with both feet inside the circle and keep them on the ground until the boule lands. Point (roll it up close to the jack) or shoot (knock the opponent's boule away). Whichever side is not holding the point throws, until it has no boules left; then the other side throws all of theirs.

Holding the point means having the boule nearest the jack. So after the first boule the other side throws until one of theirs is nearer; then the first side throws again, and so on. A side that runs out of boules watches while the other side throws whatever it has left. Most players throw underarm with the palm facing down, so the boule leaves the hand with backspin and stops close to where it lands.

When every boule is thrown, the end is measured. The side with the boule nearest the jack scores one point for every boule of theirs that is nearer than the opponent's best.

The next end

Circle

Drawn where the jack finished

Jack

Thrown by the side that won the last end

A moved jack

The end is void if the jack is knocked out of bounds, unless only one side had boules left to throw

A jack knocked out of bounds while only one side still had boules to throw scores that side a point for every boule it had left, because the other side could no longer have answered them. Two boules level with the jack, one from each side, cancel out, and the side that threw last throws again; with nothing left on either side the end is void.

Scoring

An end

1 to 6

One point for every boule nearer than the opponent's best

The other side

0

Enters nothing, or a 0

Game

The match

First to thirteen

Only one side scores in an end, and never more than the number of boules it threw: three in singles and doubles, six in triples.

A worked game

Alice and Ben play doubles against Cara and Dev, three boules each, twelve on the ground when an end is measured.

End 1

2–0

Alice and Ben have the two nearest boules; Cara's best is third

End 2

2–1

Ben's and Cara's best look level; the tape says Cara's is two centimetres nearer

End 3

2–1

Dev shoots the jack out of bounds while both sides still have a boule in hand

End 4

6–1

Four of Alice and Ben's boules beat Dev's best

End 5

7–1

Cara holds the point with one boule; Alice's shot knocks it away and stays in its place

The first end is the ordinary case: the side holding the nearest boule counts how many of its own beat the other side's best, and two do. The second is why the tape measure is in the bag: from the circle the two boules look the same, so somebody measures from the jack to the nearest edge of each, Cara's wins by two centimetres, and that is a single point to her side. The third end scores nobody, because the jack left the ground while each side still had something to throw; the sheet keeps its 2–1, with a 0 in both columns or nothing at all, and the jack is thrown again from the same circle. The fourth is a side crowding the jack, four boules nearer than anything the opponents managed. The fifth is the carreau every player wants: Alice's boule knocks Cara's clean away and sits down where it was, so Alice and Ben hold the point with the one boule that mattered. Each end's points go in the scoring side's column, and the game ends when a column reaches thirteen.

Ending

The first side to thirteen wins the game. Tap End match to bank it, and the leaderboard counts games won. There is no need to land on thirteen exactly: a side on eleven that scores three has won.

Pointing

Pointing is the quiet half of the game, and it wins more ends than shooting does. Pick a spot a metre or so short of the jack where the boule should land, and throw at that spot rather than at the jack. Get the first boule close and the other side has to beat it before it can do anything else. A boule a foot short of the jack and in line with the circle is worth more than one a foot past it, because it also stands in the way of whatever they throw next.

Shooting

Shooting is throwing hard enough to hit the other side's boule and knock it clear of the jack. It is the expensive half: a shot that misses is a boule gone for nothing, and even good shooters miss about half the time on rough ground. Shoot when you are losing several points and cannot point your way round the problem, and when a single opponent's boule is the only thing between you and a big end. Do not shoot at a boule that is merely near; shoot at the one that is beating you.

The last boule

The side that throws last in an end holds the advantage, because it sees the whole picture before it decides. If you are holding the point and the other side has run out, add boules gently, one at a time, and stop the moment the risk of moving your own outweighs another point. If you have the last boule and are losing, count what is at stake: one point down, a careful point is enough; three down, only a shot will do. Sometimes the right last boule is one thrown deliberately short so that it changes nothing.

Reading the ground

No two ends are played on the same ground, because the circle moves every time. Before the first throw, look at the patch the jack has landed on: a stone will kick a rolling boule sideways, a hollow will hold it, a hard bare patch will let it run. Watch where the other side's boules land and what they do afterwards, and borrow the information. On a hard surface throw high so the boule drops nearly straight down and stops; on soft ground, roll it. When your side throws the jack, put it where the ground suits you: short and smooth if you point well, long and rough if they like to roll.

Triples, doubles and singles

Triples is two teams of three with two boules each, doubles is two pairs with three boules each, and singles is one against one with three each. Triples is the tournament game, and it is where the roles of pointer, middle player and shooter come from.

To eleven or fifteen

Thirteen is the standard game; a quick game is played to eleven and a long one to fifteen. On SquareScores the host sets the target when the game is launched and can move it during play, and the ends are entered the same either way.

Boule lyonnaise

The older French game from Lyon, played with larger bronze boules on a long marked pitch, where a shooter takes a run-up before throwing rather than standing still in a circle.

Bocce

The Italian cousin, played with bigger, heavier balls on a marked court with boards along the sides. The scoring is the same: the side nearest the jack scores a point for every ball nearer than the other side's best. Clubs differ on the target score, so agree it before you start.

Lawn bowls

The British cousin, played on a flat lawn with bowls weighted to curve as they slow. An end is counted the same way, one point for every bowl nearer than the other side's best.

What happens if the jack is knocked out of bounds in pétanque?

If both sides still have boules in hand, the end is void: nobody scores, and the side that threw the jack throws it again from the same circle. If only one side has boules left, that side scores a point for every boule it had still to throw, because the other side could not have answered them.

Can you measure in pétanque?

Yes, and you should. Any player may measure at any time, with a tape or a pair of callipers, from the nearest edge of the jack to the nearest edge of each boule. The eye is wrong far more often than people expect when two boules are level, and a measured point is never argued about afterwards.

How many boules does each player have?

Three in singles and doubles, two in triples. So every end has six boules on the ground in singles, and twelve in doubles and triples.

What is a carreau?

A shot that knocks the opponent's boule out and stops exactly where it was, so the shooter's boule takes its place. It is the best throw in the game, because it removes their point and gives you one in the same motion, and it is rare even among good players.

What is the difference between pétanque and boules?

Boules is the family name for every French game thrown with metal balls; pétanque, in which you throw with your feet planted in a circle, is the one nearly everybody means. Boule lyonnaise is the older game with a run-up, and bocce is the Italian equivalent with bigger balls on a court.

What is a Fanny in pétanque?

Losing a game thirteen to nothing. The traditional forfeit is for the losing side to kiss the backside of a picture or a figure of Fanny, which many French clubs keep on the wall for the purpose.