This is intended to be an extremely short intro to the game of petanque - and for that reason it is not 100% accurate. But for a leisurely game, it will do.
How the game is played.
Two teams play.
- 3 players play against 3 players (triples) or
- 2 players play against 2 players (doubles) or
- 1 player plays against 1 player (singles).
They might consist of one, two or three players each - the essesential part is that both teams have the same number of boules. So if you are 5 - play 2 vs. 3, with 12 boules all together.
Usually a game with 2 players have 6 boules, and a game with more than 2 players have 12 boules. It is quite pointless to play with more than 12 boules, as chaos will erupt.
Flip a coin to decide what team goes first.
The winner start off by making a round marking in the sand, with a diameter of about 60 cm. (1,8 ft).
Step into this circle, and throw the little ball (often called "pig", or "cochonette") more than 6 meters and less than 10 meters. If you throw it to short or to far away, try again.
Then the team that threw the cochonette starts off by trowing one boule.
The other team then plays until they have a boule that is closer to the cochonette that the opposite team. The basic rule is that "if you do not lead you have to throw".
When one team has no more boules left the other team throw their remaining boules.
The scoring is simple: The more boules you have closer to the cochonette than the opponosing team, the more points you get.
One point to team B.
One point - even if they have played very well. the distance does not matter, only the number of boules.
3 points!
First team to get 11 points (or 13, make sure you agree on this first) wins! And whatever team wind one round get o throw the cochonette for the next round!
For more info visit our beginners-section
Byron Putman discovered petanque some two years ago and fell in love, head over heels. Then decided to analyze every angle of the game, including its development in the USA. He started clubs in Palm Springs, CA and in Lake Oswego, OR. And wrote a book about it, aptly named "Pétanque - The greatest game you never heard of!"
10 shooters, amongst one woman, were present at the finals of the manifestation 1.000 Boules in Nieuwegein (very near to Utrecht in the centre of the country) on Saturday night, the 29th of October 2011. Amongst the players there was also Philippe Quintais, the former French world champion (12 times!) who gave a demonstration at the end of the manifestation, visited by almost 400 spectators. All players had to shoot 100 boules within 10 minutes at a distance of 8 meters.
Devotees of pétanque will now be able to enjoy a glass of pastis before a match again: The World Anti-Doping Agency is to remove alcohol from its list of prohibited substances for competitions.
At Parkhurst Petanque in Johannesburg, we developed a new game called Petanque Pinball.
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