Une partie de Pétanque, ca fait plaisir!
Pétanque (the name derives from pieds tanqués - meaning "anchored feet" - because the player must have both feet on the ground throughout each shot) can be played as singles, doubles or triples. Three boules are used by each player in a singles or doubles format, but only two boules are used per player in triples games.
Boules
are metal, weigh up to 800g, and have a diameter between 70mm and 80mm. The
cochonnet (or jack, or le bouchon, as our Le Mistral Club members from Marseilles prefer to call it) should
be made of wood and have a diameter of 25mm to 30mm.
After deciding who starts by tossing a coin, a member of that team draws a
circle on the terrain where each player must stand when throwing. The circle
should be between 35cm and 50cm diameter and both feet must stay inside the
circle while playing.
The first thrower throws the cochonnet to land between 6m and 10m from the
circle and not closer than one metre from the terrain boundary.
He then throws his first boule and tries to place it as close as possible to the
cochonnet.
From the same circle, a player from the opposing team throws his boule, either
trying to get it nearer to the cochonnet (called pointer, or to "point",
and thus someone who routinely favors this technique is a pointeur) or knock away the leading
boule (called tirer, or to "shoot", and thus someone who
routinely favors this technique is a tireur). The boule closest to the cochonnet leads. Any boule thrown
outside the terrain boundary is considered to be out of play.
Players in the trailing team must throw until their team has a leading boule, or
all the team's boules are played. When a team has played all its boules, the
other team continue to throw theirs, trying to place them closer to the
cochonnet than the opposing boules.
After all boules have been played, the team
with one or more boules nearest the cochonnet are the winners of that end. The
points gained are equal to the number of boules closer to the cochonnet than the
nearest of the opposing team.
A new circle is drawn round the cochonnet,
which is picked up by a player from the leading team and thrown as before. Play
continues until one team reaches 13 points.
[Acknowledgement and thanks to the Crondall Petanque Club (U.K.) for above summary]
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There are several ways to point or shoot boules. For an overview of the various techniques and their nuances, click here.
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Link to the official rules for playing Boules de Pétanque
website created by brwalsh