Pétanque

Our party game tips two weeks ago were child’s-play. This week we’re a bit more sophisticated — said with a snooty accent — with our summer amusement ideas. Two summers ago on vacation in Provence, once the kids were in bed, the grown-ups would adjourn to the back lawn of our villa where we’d enjoy an apéritif and what we called Bocce — pronounced “baahtchay” or butchered by most Americans as “bahtchy” — on the villa’s Bocce court. But, now I realize that it was likely a pétanque court — pronounced “pay-tahnk-uh” and likely too French sounding for most Americans to want to attempt since we were in Provence, southern France, where the game originated in 1907.

Pétanque in playTo be fair, the court in the photo looks a LOT more like a Bocce court than a pétanque court so we were not totally off-base in referring to it as such while in France, not Italy. Plus, the games are so similar because they all originally originated from the Ancient Greeks passed down through the Romans. In the UK and the US, it’s basically called lawn bowling — and Bocce . But, “Would you guys be up for a game of pétanque before dinner?” just sounds so much more sophisticated, n’est-ce pas?

This game is for all personality types and therefore a universal crowd pleaser. According to Wikipedia, there are actually 375,000 players licensed with the Fédération Française de Pétanque et Jeu Provençal (FFPJP) and some 3,000 in England. Another 20,000 or so play in Quebec. I’m not sure what “licensed” means but I’m assuming it means they’ve passed some sort of Pétanque quiz. Pétanque is also played in former French colonies/territories in Southeast Asia: Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Northern Thailand. Who says colonialists were all bad? They always leave such wonderful sports behind for the colonies. Although, I’m not quite sure what sport the Brits left us since cricket isn’t exactly thriving as a major league here.

The quick rules are basically there’s a jack — a small ball — that you throw out first, and then everyone tries to throw their bigger metal balls as close to the jack without pushing it out of bounds. Click here to buy a pétanque set. Below we feature MUCH more detailed rules from Wikipedia.

Pétanque Rules by Wikipedia

Pétanque is played by two, four or six people in two teams, or players can compete as individuals in casual play. In the singles and doubles games each player has three boules; in triples they have only two. A coin is tossed to decide which side goes first. The starting team draws a circle on the ground which is 35-50 centimetres in diameter: all players must throw their boules from within this circle, with both feet remaining on the ground. The first player throws the jack 6–10 metres away; it must be at least one metre from the boundary.

Order of play

The player who threw the jack then throws their first boule. A player from the opposing team then makes a throw. Play continues with the team that is not closest to the jack having to continue throwing until they either land a boule closer to the jack than their opponents or run out of boules.

If the closest boules from each team are an equal distance from the jack, then the team that played last plays again. If the boules are still equidistant then the teams play alternately until the position changes. If the boules are still equidistant at the end of the game then no points are scored by either team.

The game continues with a player from the team that won the previous end drawing a new circle around where the jack finished and throwing the jack for a new end.

Scoring

Play ends, and points may be scored when both teams have no more boules, or when the jack is knocked out of play. The winning team receives one point for each boule that it has closer to the jack than the best-placed boule of the opposition.

If the jack is knocked out of play, no team scores unless only one team has boules left to play. In this case the team with boules receives one point for each that they have to play.

The first team to reach 13 points wins.

Further Rules

  1. A boule hitting a boundary is dead and is removed from that end.
  2. On a court or piste marked with strings a boule is dead if it completely crosses the string.
  3. The circle can be moved back in the line of the previous end if there is not room to play a 10 metre end.
  4. The boule can be thrown at any height or even rolled depending on the terrain.
  5. Boules are thrown underarm, usually with the palm of the hand downwards which allows backspin to be put on the boule giving greater control.
  6. Each team should have suitable measuring equipment. In most cases a tape measure is adequate but callipers or other measuring devices may be needed.

Equipment Specifications

Boules must be made of metal. Competition boules must meet the following specifications:

  • bear engravings indicating the manufacturer’s name and the weight of the boule.
  • have a diameter between 70.5 and 80 mm.
  • have a weight between 650 and 800 g.
  • not be filled with sand or lead, or be tampered with in any way

In addition, a boule may bear an engraving of the player’s first name or initials.

Strategy

A successful pétanque team has players who are skilled at shooting as well as players who only point. For obvious reasons, the pointer or pointers play first – the shooter or shooters are held in reserve in case the opponents place well. In placing, a boule in front of the jack has much higher value than one at the same distance behind the jack, because intentional or accidental pushing of a front boule generally improves its position. At every play after the very first boule has been placed, the team whose turn it is must decide whether to point or shoot. Factors that count in that decision include:

  1. How close to the jack the opponents’ best boule is,
  2. The state of the terrain (an expert pointer can practically guarantee to place within about 15 centimeters if the terrain is well tended, not so if it’s rocky or uneven), and
  3. How many boules each team has yet to play.