How to play petanque

Despite the popularity of other ball games like football and basketball, petanque remains a relatively lesser known sport in Singapore. You can learn more about petanque with the outline of rules below.

The main objective of the game is to throw small metal balls as close as possible to a wooden ball – known as cochonnet or jack – from the player’s fixed position in a circle. Petanque loosely translates to ‘feet together’ and refers to the player having both his legs together firmly on the ground while making a throw.

Played by two teams consisting of up to three players, the game is played on either open space or marked terrain. For sporting events, it is played on marked terrain, traditionally marked using strings that are wound around nails that have been driven into the ground.

The game begins with both teams tossing a coin to decide who goes first. The team that wins the coin toss will then place the circle, before throwing the jack, and the first boule to start the game. A boule is considered the act of throwing or rolling a ball towards the jack. The first player has to ensure that the jack is thrown between six to 10 meters away from the circle, or the jack will have to be rethrown in order for the game to start.

Once the first boule is thrown, the opposing team will then throw a boule. After which, the team with the ball further away from the jack will be given a turn to throw another boule. This continues until the team that has the turn gains a point by having a ball closest to the jack, or until they run out of boules. Once a team has run out of boules, the opposing team will then continue throwing the boules until they have also run out.

Each game consists of several rounds (which is also known as innings or une mene – ‘the end’, when translated to English). Each round ends when both teams have finished their boules. If the ball crosses the boundary line in a marked terrain, then it is considered a dead ball and will not be counted.

At the end of the round, the team with the ball closest to the jack scores a point for every ball that is closer than the opposing team’s balls. The winner of each round will begin the next, and rounds proceed until one of the team reaches 13 points in total, whereby they are considered the winner of the game.

scoring in petanque

Since the main objective of the sport is to get your team’s boules as close to the jack as possible, it is vital for the players to throw or roll the boules in the proper way. Here are some of the popular methods for moving the boules across the petanque terrain.

Before you throw or roll the boule, it is essential to get used to the stance. While there is no standard stance, experienced petanque players favour the four most common ones: playing while standing upright, bent at the waist, bent at the knees, or in a semi-crouch. It doesn’t matter which stance is used, as long as both feet are firmly placed on the ground inside the circle when throwing.

Pointing

Pointing refers to the act of a player throwing a boule in order to get it to be as close as possible to the jack.

Rolling Point

As the name suggests, the rolling point involves the player rolling the boule all the way from the circle and towards the jack. This involves a rolling throw, and is commonly executed with the player bending at the waist or the knees.

Half Lob Point

This throw involves the player throwing the boule so that it lands between the circle and the target jack, with the intention of causing the boule to roll towards the jack for the remaining distance upon landing on the terrain. However, this method of throwing should only be carried out on smoother terrains, as rough terrains will restrict the distance in that the boule is able to roll.

High Lob

This is the last of the three main pointing methods, and it is one of the hardest. The high lob involves the player throwing the boule so that it travels in a high arc, and landing near to the jack without rolling away upon landing.

The high lob often requires a high throw, as well as a rougher terrain, in order for it to be executed properly. The boule rarely stops dead where it lands, often rolling at least a slight distance after it touches the terrain. However, this is one of the best methods as it allows the player to get the boule as close to the jack as possible.

Shooting

Shooting is another form of throwing, but with the intention of knocking the opponent’s boule out of the way and thus clearing the way for throws that will ensure your boules are closer to the jack.

The most common way of shooting is to throw the boule a short distance in front of the target boule that the player wants out of the way. Best carried out on smoother terrain, the player needs a strong hand swing so that the boule carries enough energy to travel across the terrain and to knock the opposing boule out of its path.

Common Petanque strategies

While petanque seems to be a relatively easy game to play, there are several strategies that players favour in order to better their chances at winning the round, and subsequently, the game.

Throwing the First Boule

The most common strategy for players throwing the first boule is to aim the boule directly at the jack, so that it will stop right in front of it, or near to it. This is done to prevent your opponent from throwing a boule nearer to the jack, as your boule would act as an obstacle in your opponent’s path.

Protect the Rear

In the event that all your boules are near to the jack, and you have one last boule to throw, while your opponent still has several, it is advisable to throw your last remaining boule so that it is further away from the jack. While it sounds contradictory, this strategy is good as it ensures that your opponent will not risk shooting too near to the jack, or even at the jack, as it might cause their boule to drive the jack nearer to your boule instead. Your last boule should therefore be thrown not only further away, but also beyond the jack, instead of in front of it.

No points

The most stressful situation for a petanque player usually occurs when he or she only has one boule left to throw, but has yet to have a point for that turn. If the player has a boule directly in front of the jack, acting as a wall, the best strategy that he can adopt is to throw the last boule directly in front of the wall.

The player should take care to throw the last boule with sufficient force, so that the wall will be hit and moved as a result. This ensures that the player still has the boule closest to the jack. However, if this strategy is unsuccessful, it still serves to act as an obstacle for the opponent as your boule will shield the jack away.

Jack Surrounded

Sometimes, the game can proceed to the point that the jack is completely surrounded by the opponent’s boules. In this case, the only strategy available to the player would be to throw the boule directly at the jack, in hopes that it will drive the jack further away from the opponent’s boules. This is also advantageous as hitting the jack would put the boule in closer proximity to it, hence the player would have a point.

Improve your throwing in Petanque

Throwing the boule is one of the most important aspect of the game, and every player should aim to improve the way they throw the boule as much as possible. Here are some ways that you can improve your throwing technique in order to have a better game.

Holding the Boule

The proper way to hold a boule is with your fingers tightly packed together. The boule should be resting comfortably in the palm, with your fingers around over the boule. The palm should be facing downwards, with the thumb being barely used to grip the boule. Properly done, the hand should not be gripping the boule, but instead, the boule should simply be resting in the hand.

Stance

The stance of the player is not as important, with different players favouring different stances, all based on the way they play. However, it is essential for the stance to be balanced and stable, as an unsteady stance can affect the throw. A weak stance will cause the boule to go off course, thus causing the player a valuable opportunity to have a point.

The player should also remember to always have both his feet on the ground when throwing. If the player prefers a squatting stance, the soles of the feet can be lifted, but part of the feet still has to be on the ground.

Aiming

It is important for the player to aim properly before a throw is even attempted. To aim, the player should extend his arm – with the boule in his hand – towards the target, with the intentions of aligning his arm with the target or jack. The player should remember the position of his arm when aiming, as it will be involved in the later stages of throwing.

Throwing

Once the player has established his aim by extending his arm, the player should then begin his throw by swinging the arm with the boule backwards, keeping the elbow next to the body. While bringing the arm forward in a swing, the player has to keep his arm as straight as possible in order to have a better throw. The wrist of the hand holding the ball should be cocked throughout the entire backswing and forward swing action, and should only relax when the arm passes by the leg of the player and begins the upwards swing.

The upward swing should reach the point where the arm was extended previously in the aiming position. At this point, the player should release the ball, with the ball rolling off his fingertips instead of in a dropping motion.