Carrom Rules – Learn How to Play Carrom

Carrom is traditionally a tabletop indoor game that came from India. In this game, the players put discs with relatively large strikers into four holes at the corners of the square board. It is designed to be played between two or four players as two teams. The small discs are known as carrom men, the red disc is popular as queen, and the large disc is called a striker used to throw the discs in the hole.
Similar to Billiards and Table Shuffleboard, Carrom is a fascinating game. Interestingly, carrom is known by a variety of names such as Karam, karum, and Couronne. A relaxed and calm atmosphere is inevitable to enjoy carrom with a group of people, usually with family, at a social gathering, or among friends.
Talking about its history, this game was invented in India during the 18th century. In the 1950s and 1960s, the game was at the height of popularity; even national tournaments were organized in several countries. By the 1980s, its popularity spread across Europe and the United States.
To enjoy carrom to the fullest, you must know the Carrom Rules and the setup before playing. Let’s dig out more in detail, how to play carrom in detail.

Carrom Requirements:

A carrom game might also require the following equipment in addition to the carrom board.

• Board: Traditionally, Carrom boards are shaped as square flat wooden surfaces that measure 72 cm or 74 cm square. It is typically placed 60 to 70 cm above the ground.
• Carrom Men: Carrom is played with circular-shaped small discs, usually known as carrom men. They are available in different colors, and the most common colors are black and white, every nine pieces.
• Queen: There is only one red disk on the game board, known as the queen. Queens hold a crucial role in the victory and have a valuable place in the game.
• Striker: A relatively sizable circular piece made of plastic is known as a striker. A striker is generally more prominent than carrom men and used to hit them.
• Powder: An easy way to slide the pieces across the board is to use fine-grained powder.It helps the players in flicking and pocketing the carrom men with the striker quickly.
• Stand: A stand is used to mount the table at a suitable position. So that players will be able to play the game at the correct height without excessive bending.
• Net: Nets are used to store the docs and are fixed at the bottom of each corner hole to cover it from underneath.

Objective

In carrom, the goal is to pocket the men and the queen before the opponent to score maximum points and win the game. The player can drive a carrom man into any four corner pockets by flicking the striker with a finger.

Setting up

At the center of the board, the red queen is positioned. There is a small circle of six black and white carrom men around the queen, and the next larger circle has 12 black and white pieces alternately positioned.

Carrom Scoring

There are usually 25 points or eight boards in a carrom game as defined by the International Carrom rules. The game can be played with eight boards at a time. A board game has a maximum of 25 points. For 21 and above points, the queen cannot be used. Moreover, if a player pocketed their opponent’s final disc, he would lose the entire board and three points.
In the same way, a player may lose 3 points if they pocket their last carrom men before the queen.

How to win Carrom

The first player wins this contest to score 25 points on a board. Alternatively, if the player has the most points at the end of eight boards, they will win.