Carrom

For the games with billiard balls, see Carom billiards, or Cue sport more generally.

Carrom or carroms is a family of tabletop games sharing a similarity in that their mechanics lie somewhere between billiards and table shuffleboard. The game has various other names around the world, including carrum, carum, karam, karom, karum, and Indian (or Nepalese) finger billiards.

Origins

The origins of carrom are uncertain. The majority of sources suggest that the game is of Indian origin while some sources claim the game is of Chinese origin. Yemen, Ethiopia, Zimbabwe and North Africa are also suggested as potential regions of origin. In the West, where the game is often similar to billiards-type games, it may have independently developed in several cases as a mixture of billiards and shuffleboard.

Equipment

The nineteen carrom-men are set up in the "outer circle"

The game is played on a board of lacquered plywood, normally with a 29 inch (74 cm) square playing surface. The edges of the playing surface are bounded by bumpers of wood. Instead of the balls of billiards games, carrom uses disks. The object of the game is to strike or flick with a finger a comparatively heavy disk called a "striker" such that it contacts lighter object disks called "carrom-men" and propels them into one of four corner pockets.

Carrom board

Playing surface

The playing surface of the Carrom Board should be of plywood or of any other wood equally smooth and be of not less than 8 mm in thickness and of a minimum of 73.50 cm and a maximum of 74 cm square with its surface completely smooth. A Carrom Board shall be able to have at least three and a half runs of a normally smooth Striker of 15 gms weight, when struck with the maximum force, from one of the Bale lines, to the opposite frame of the Carrom Board.

Frames

Adjoining the playing surface of the Carrom Board there shall be wooden frames with inside curved corners made of Rosewood or any other hard wood with good resistance, with a minimum height of 1.90 cm and a maximum of 2.54 cm from the playing surface. The breadth of the frame shall be not less than 6.35 cm and not more than 7.60 cm. Suitable bracings shall be provided underneath the playing surface and fastened with the frame.

Pockets

The pockets of the four corners of the Carrom Board shall be round inwardly and not outwardly and be of 4.45 cm in diameter with admissible variation of not more than 0.15 cm. The piece of plywood adjoining the corners of the frame shall be cut off.

Base lines

a. Two straight lines of 47 cm in length with admissible variation of 0.30 cm equally distributed on all sides, black in colour, shall be drawn on each of the four sides of the playing surface, parallel to the frame on each side. The lower of these two lines, which shall be between 0.50 cm and 0.65 cm thickness, shall be 10.15 cm away from the frame and the other one 3.18 cm away from the lower part of the Base line b. The Base lines shall be closed by circles of 3.18 cm in diameter at either end. Within this circle a portion 2.54 cm in diameter shall be coloured red. These circles shall be called Base circles. These shall be drawn so as to touch both the base lines and also the upper Base lines of the adjacent side when imaginably extended. The distance between the Base circle on one side and that of the other may be 1.27 cm approximately.

Arrows

Two children playing carrom with a nun in India

Four Arrows, black in colour, of not more than 0.15 cm thickness shall be drawn at each corner of the Carrom Board at an angle of 45 degrees to any of the adjacent sides and each of them shall pass through the gap between the two Base circles and point towards the centre of the picket leaving a clear distance of 5.00 cm from the edge of the pocket. The length of the arrow shall not exceed 25.70 cm. A decorative arch of 6.35 cm in diameter with a pointer at both ends, drawn at the starting point of the arrows leading towards the pocket is permissible.

Centre circle

Exactly in the centre of the Carrom Board there shall be a circle of 3.18 cm in diameter drawn black in colour with admissible variation of 0.16 cm. It shall be called the Centre Circle and shall be coloured in red.

Outer Circle

A circle of 17.00 cm in diameter with the centre point of the Carrom Board as its centre shall be drawn black in colour with an admissible variation of 0.30 cm. It shall be called the Outer Circle. Any decorative design in this circle is permissible.

Carrom-men

Carrom-men and two strikers, arranged at the start of a game.

A carrom-man (also carrom man, carromman, carroman; plural -men; sometimes abbreviated c/m; and known by colloquial terms such as seed, coin, puck, or got) is a usually wooden (sometimes plastic), uniform small disk used in playing carrom. The Carrom-men have a smooth movement in a flat position on the surface of the carrom board when hit by a striker of standard specification.

The carrom-men come in two colors denoting the two players (or, in doubles play, teams). Traditionally, these colors are white (or unstained) and black. The breaker always plays white. An additional, special carrom-man is colored red and called the "queen".

ICF-sanctioned pieces must have a diameter of no more than 3.18 cm and no less than 3.02 cm, and must be between 7 mm and 9 mm thick, with an edge that is round and plain, and a weight of 5–5.5 g.

The queen

The queen

The red (or sometimes pink) queen or "match-taker" coin/seed, is the most powerful carrom piece. It is placed at the center of the circle. Under ICF rules, if a player wins the board with the queen, this adds three 3 "queen points" to the player's total score. A player has the right to pocket the queen and to cover it provided a carrom-man of the player's own has already been pocketed.

Under ICF rules, the dimensions of the queen must be the same as those of the other carrom-men.

The striker

The striker is a larger, heavier piece, flicked with the finger to hit the carrom-men and knock them into the corner pockets or into each other. According to the laws by ICF, the striker shall be smooth and round. & diameter should not more than 4.13 cm. Its weight should not less than 15.00 gram. The Ivory and metal made strikers are not allowed. Striker with metal fixed and visible to eye shall not allowed. Only Decent design are permittable. If the design is vulgar or teasing to eyes are not permitted.

The stool or chair

Under ICF rules, the chair or table must be armless & Height not less than 40 cm & not more than 50 cm

Powder

According to ICF rules, The powder must be of high quality to keep surface smooth and dry & shall not wet. It's filled in pouches and containers to spread over playing surface. No impurity in powder. Mostly boric acid powder is used for this purpose..

In the UK many players use a version of anti-set-off spray powder from the printing industry which has specific electrostatic properties with particles of 50 micron in diameter, the powder is made for pure food grade plant / vegetable starch.

Nets

Acc. to ICF rules, Nets should be fully covered on bottom of carrom board. Each net shall have the capacity of holding at least 10 cm.

Light shade

A light shade shall be hung or fitted at a convenient height above the carrom board. A conicle or square shaped shade is to be used, preferebly of metal, so that light shall fall only on the carrom board. The inner side of the shade shall be snow white in colour. The light bulb used shall be at least 60 watts in power. Light shade height can be altered at a player's request in such way that the naked light shall not strike the player's eye.

Rules

International rules are promulgated by the International Carrom Federation (based in India), the governing body of carrom. The organisation also ranks players, sanctions tournaments and presents awards, and has many national affiliates such as the All-India Carrom Federation, Australian Carrom Federation, UK Carrom Association and US Carrom Association.

The toss

Before the commencement of each match, in formal play, an umpire hides one black and and one white carrom-men in his hands and the players have to guess which carrom-men are being held in each hand. This process is known as "calling the carrom-men" or simply "the toss".

The player who wins the toss has two options. They must choose to either strike first or change sides (from white to blac) and give up the opening break. No option to pass this decision to the other player is available. If the player choses to strike, the loser can change sides, but if the winner chooses to change sides the loser must strike first.

In a doubles event, the team winning the toss has the choice, as above. Once the toss-losers have sat down, they may not interchange. This order of sitting continues throughout the match.

Shooting

The aim of the game is to pot one's own nine carrom men before one's opponent pots his/hers. However, before sinking one's final carrom man, the queen must be pocketed and then "covered" by pocketing one of one's own carrom men on the same or subsequent strike. Fouls, such as crossing the diagonal lines on the board with any part of one's body, or potting the striker, lead to carrom men being returned to the board. The shooting player (or "carromer") is not allowed to shoot the striker behind the line, except when hitting a back shot. However, directly striking any coin that is touching the player's base line is not allowed, even for a back shot. The player is allowed to shoot with any finger, including the thumb (known as "thumbing" or a "thumb shot").

Point carrom

A variant often popular with children or an odd number of players. Play is as above except that all players try to sink all carrom men, regardless of colour. The nine carrom men of one color are worth one point each and the nine carrom men of the other color are worth two points each. The red queen is worth five points and may only be captured by pocketing another carrom man on the same or subsequent strike. A player reaching 17 or more points is the winner, otherwise the winner is the player with the most points after all carrom men have been pocketed.

Board variations

Carrom boards come in various sizes, as do the corner pockets. Smaller boards, and boards with larger pockets, are often employed by beginners for easier gameplay. On traditional carrom boards the corner pockets are only slightly larger than the carrom men, and smaller than the shooter. On boards with larger pockets, it is possible to sink the shooter, resulting in a "scratch shot" as in pool. This is called a "due". Typically on a "due", one of your pocketed men come back into the table.

American carrom

A simple American version with cue sticks and a chess/checkers pattern. Note the pockets, which are much larger than traditional Indian carrom holes.

A more elaborate American board, with even more markings for other games.

American carrom is a variant on carrom derived in America by missionaries to the East, around 1890. Believing that the game required restructuring for Western tastes, a Sunday school teacher named Henry Haskell altered the game. Much of the game is the same, but the striker's weight is reduced and the carrom men are smaller. Generally, instead of disks of solid wood, ivory, or acrylic, carrom men (including the striker) are rings, originally of wood but today commercially made of light plastic. In addition, as an alternative to using the fingers to flick the striker, American carrom uses miniature cue sticks. American carrom boards also have pockets built into the corners, rather than circular holes in the board, to make pocketing easier. While traditionally made boards vary widely, current commercially-produced American carrom boards are 28 inches (710 mm) square, are printed with checkerboard and backgammon patterns, among others, and are sold with checkers, chess pieces, skittles, etc., to allow other games to be played on the same board. Often, these boards are also built to play crokinole.

Variations

A version of American carrom was played in Southern California schools in the 1950s-1970s, using a somewhat larger square board and wooden rings struck with cue sticks. There was both a golf version and a maze version. In the golf version, there was a series of nine "holes" (really just green areas on the board.) A player had to start at the tee for a particular hole and get a carrom coin completely within the green region to advance to the next hole. Sand trap hazards would cause the player to lose a stroke and lake hazards would cause the player to lose two. A modified commercial version also exists. In the maze version, the playing board was divided by wooden rails into a maze of spiral corridors. The object was to be the first to get to the center. The surface was marked with areas that would send the player forward or back if landed on, similar to other board games. A commercial version of this is now also available.

Novuss

Main article: Novuss

A popular variant in Latvia and Estonia is called novuss (or koroona), and is subject to notable amateur and even professional competition between the two countries. Like the American game, it is played with cue sticks (but they are much closer in size to pool cues, and the game is played while standing), and the board has comparatively large netted corner pockets instead of simple round holes. The board is 40 inches (100 cm) square, mounted on a roughly groin-height table, and there are two striker pucks (one for each player), eight object disks ("men") per player, and no queen. The game dates to the mid-to-late 1920s, the first professional match was held in 1932, Latvian national championship began in 1964, and "international" (i.e. Latvia vs. Estonia) competition began in 1993. There are an estimated 55,000 players.

Filipino carrom

A cued variant of carrom is also played in the Philippines, and is called "karambola" and "pool table". It is similar to novuss, but both players use the same puck for striking with their cues, and only twelve object disks (six per player) are used. The table is usually rotateable so that the players would not have to move to where they will strike the puck, and just rotate the table to a position they are comfortable making a shot at.

Australian carrom

Australian carrom, also known by the trademark Puckpool, is a variation created in the mid-90s. Like the Indian game, it is played with the hands directly, without cue sticks, but has essentially adopted many of the rules of the popular pool game blackball. Australian carrom is only played with eight pucks per side (whites vs. blacks) as opposed to nine, and calls the "queen" the "crown" or the "colored puck" instead. Shots are taken from each player's "driveline" (a line on the board near the rim of the playing surface closest to the player). Only one striker is used, shots are taken in turn, and all shots are taken from the player's driveline (unlike in blackball). The commercial variant is played without the use of powder, on a smooth, 735 mm (29 in.) square-surfaced, coin-operated machine reminiscent of table-top video games of 1980s, intended for pubs and similar venues.

Chinese carrom

A variant is played in China, with cue sticks.

See also

• Chapayev
• Crokinole
• Pichenotte
• Pitchnut

External links

• Carrom.org — has official rules and links to national federations
• All-India Carrom Federation

• Punjab State Carrom Association, India

• UK Carrom Association
• Australian Carrom Federation
• US Carrom Association — official website with tournament info, membership and stats
• KakiKarom — Carrom community in Malaysia