The origins of carrom are uncertain, although western sources suggest that the game is of Indian, Portugese, or Burmese origin. Variations of the game played with a cue stick similar to those used in billiards-type games may have independently developed in several cases as a mixture of billiards and shuffleboard.
The game is very popular in India, and in Punjabi it is called fatta. Similar games are played throughout the world, and may or may not share common origins with carrom. In Denmark a similar game called bob is played with cues rather than fingers. There is a carrom-like game also played with cues in
The game is played on a board of lacquered plywood, normally with a 29 inch (74 cm) square playing surface. The edges of the playing surface are bounded by bumpers of wood, and the bottom of the board is covered by a net with a 10 cm2 or larger capacity. Instead of the balls of billiards games, carrom uses disks. The object of the game is to strike or flick with a finger a comparatively heavy disk called a "striker" such that it contacts lighter object disks called "carrom-men" and propels them into one of four corner pockets.
Carrom-men
Carrom-men and two strikers, arranged at the start of a game. A carrom-man (also carrom man, carromman, carroman; plural -men; sometimes abbreviated c/m; and known by colloquial terms such as seed, coin, puck, or goti) is a usually wooden (sometimes plastic), uniform small disk used in playing carrom. The Carrom-men have a smooth movement in a flat position on the surface of the carrom board when hit by a striker of standard specification.
The carrom-men come in two colors denoting the two players (or, in doubles play, teams). Traditionally, these colors are white (or unstained) and black. The breaker always plays white. An additional, special carrom-man is colored red and called the "queen".
ICF-sanctioned pieces must have a diameter of no more than 3.18 cm and no less than 3.02 cm, and must be between 7 mm and 9 mm thick, with an edge that is round and plain, and a weight of 5–5.5 g.
The Queen
The red (or sometimes pink) queen or "match-taker" coin/seed, is the most powerful carrom piece. It is placed at the center of the circle. Under ICF rules, if a player wins the board with the queen, this adds three 3 "queen points" to the player's total score. A player has the right to pocket the queen and to cover it provided a carrom-man of the player's own has already been pocketed.[3] Under ICF rules, the dimensions of the queen must be the same as those of the other carrom-men.
According to the ICF, the world carrom champion recognized in 2003 is Indian striker Wasif Osmani. He has been Indian defending champion 6 years running. The national competion consists of over 10 million competitors.
The striker is a larger, heavier piece, flicked with the finger to hit the carrom-men and knock them into the corner pockets or into each other. According to the laws by ICF, the striker "shall be smooth and round, with a diameter not more than 4.13 cm." Its weight should not be more than 15 grams. Ivory and metal strikers are not allowed in tournaments.
High quality powder is used on the board to enable the pieces to slide easily. Boric acid powder is the most commonly used for this purpose.
In the
International rules (sometimes hyperbolically called "the laws of carrom") are promulgated by the India-based International Carrom Federation, thegoverning body of carrom. The organisation also ranks players, sanctions tournaments and presents awards, and has many national affiliates such as the All-India Carrom Federation, Australian Carrom Federation, UK Carrom Association and US Carrom Association.There is a penalty a person has to pay if his striker goes in the hole.This term is referred to as deuce. The penalty is usually 10.
Order of play is determined by the process of "calling the carrom-men" or, simply, "the toss". Before the commencement of each match, in formal play, an umpire hides one black and one white carrom-men in his hands and the players have to guess which carrom-men are being held in each hand. The player who wins the toss must either choose to strike first or to change sides (from white to black) and give up the opening break. No option to pass this decision to the other player is available. If the player chooses to strike, the loser can change sides, but if the winner chooses to change sides the loser must strike first.
In a doubles event, the team winning the toss has the choice, as above. Once the toss-losers have sat down, they may not interchange. This order of sitting continues throughout the match.
Whoever plays first or breaks gets white.
The aim of the game is to pot one's own nine carrom men before one's opponent pots his/hers. However, before sinking one's final carrom man, the queen must be pocketed and then "covered" by pocketing one of one's own carrom men on the same or subsequent strike. Fouls, such as crossing the diagonal lines on the board with any part of one's body, or potting the striker, lead to carrom men being returned to the board. The player is allowed to shoot with any finger, including the thumb (known as "thumbing" or a "thumb shot"). The player can shoot C/m on his/her base line while playing back shot (thumbing). At any point of time the player should not strike any of the coins on the diagonal line closer to the player.
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