Pétanque

Overview

A French boules game: throw metal balls, the boules, as close as possible to a small wooden target ball, the jack (cochonnet). Played on almost any surface.

Checked against the Official Rules for the Sport of Pétanque published by the Fédération Internationale de Pétanque et Jeu Provençal (FIPJP), the edition in force since 1 January 2021. Article numbers below refer to it.

1. Teams and equipment

• Triples (3 v 3): each player has 2 boules. Doubles (2 v 2) and singles (1 v 1): each player has 3 boules. No other format is allowed (Article 1).
• Boules must be metal, hollow, 7.05 to 8 cm across and weigh 650 to 800 g, and be approved by the FIPJP (Article 2).
• The jack is 30 mm (± 1 mm) across and weighs 10 to 18 g (Article 3).

2. The game

Games are played to 13 points, or 11 in some leagues and qualifying heats (Article 5). At national and international championships the terrain is at least 15 m by 4 m (Article 5).

3. Starting an end

A team wins the toss and throws the jack from a circle on the ground, 35 to 50 cm across (Article 6). Players' feet must be entirely inside it, not touching its edge, and neither foot may leave the ground completely until the thrown boule has landed (Article 6).

The jack is valid if it lands 6 to 10 metres from the circle for juniors and seniors, is at least 50 cm from any obstacle, and is visible to a player standing upright in the circle (Article 7). The team that throws first has one try. If it isn't valid, the opponents place it (Article 6).

4. Playing an end

• The first boule is thrown by a player from the team that won the toss or scored last (Article 16). After that, the team that doesn't hold the point plays.
• Boules are thrown one at a time, and a thrown boule can't be replayed (Article 16).
• Each player has one minute to play (Article 21).
• A boule is dead once it has completely crossed the boundary of the terrain. One straddling the line is still live (Article 19).

5. Scoring

When all boules have been played, the team with the boule closest to the jack scores one point for each of its boules closer than the opponent's nearest (Article 29). Measuring is done with proper instruments, never with the feet (Article 26). A team may ask an umpire, whose decision is final.

Equidistant boules (Article 29): if the two closest boules, one from each team, are the same distance from the jack:

1. if neither team has boules left, the end is dead;
2. if only one team has boules left, it plays them and scores those that end up closer;
3. if both teams have boules left, the team that played last plays again, then the other, until one holds the point.

Commonly argued

• Feet must be entirely inside the circle, not on its edge, and can't both leave the ground before the boule lands.
• A thrown boule can't be replayed, except when something outside the game moves it.
• A boule on the boundary line is still live.
• Games are to 13 points, and 11 in some leagues.
• You have one minute to throw once the previous boule or jack has stopped.