I may have missed it but I do not see anywhere in the rules how the playing surface for Petanque should be prepared. Must it be played on a gravel surface or is a closely mowed lawn also according to the rules. The question is: Could we play a World Competition on closely mowed lawn?
Thanks.

Petanque can be played on many surfaces although a closely mowed lawn isn't one of them. Boules would bounce all over the place. Baked earth is okay though.

If you click the Building menu, you'll see some examples of building terrains. Normally, pétanque is played on an 'unprepared' gravel terrain, i.e. with natural slopes, dips, stony areas, etc, all of which give 'character' to the game.

Have a look at the French championships on YouTube for a better idea of what a good terrain should be like.

One of the most common mistakes is to build a perfectly smooth, flat, featureless 'billiard table', i.e. the opposite of how the game is meant to be played.

Grass is one of the least suitable surfaces. It's not gravel and it's very 'bouncy' compared to a gravel surface.

Regards.