Petanque
From LoveToKnow French
Pétanque is a popular summer game played largely in the south of France. It is also sometimes referred to as "boules." There is a national governing Pétanque body and club and for many, this is a great way to relax while on vacation.
History of Pétanque
Pétanque is a cousin of bocce, lawn bowling or the English game of bowls. It can also be referred to as le jeu provençal referring to its French history commencing in Provence. However, modern pétanque is different in rules than is jeu provençal, with a smaller playing field and some different rules regarding movement with the ball. Most enthusiasts would differentiate between the two referring to jeu de provençal instead as an ancestor of today's pétanque.
It is said that a game similar to this French version of bocci was played by the Ancient Greeks. Slowly, over time, the Romans added a target and then Roman soldiers taught the game to the French. The modern version of pétanque first began sometime between 1907 and 1910. It was probably introduced by Jules le Noir.
Pétanque is a shortened or slang form of the phrase "pied-tanquée" which means feet together...describing the position from which one shoots the pétanque balls.
In 1945, la Fédération Française de Pétanque et Jeu de Provençal was born, and since then they have hosted annual tournaments and boast a membership of several hundred thousand members making it one of the most popular traditional French sports.
How to Play Pétanque
Out of all the "jeu de boules", pétanque has the easiest set of rules and this is perhaps why it is one of the most popular games of bowls.
Starting the Game
The game starts when the first team draws a circle 35 to 50 centimeters in diameter. From this circle, all players have to throw their boules, with both feet together and on the ground. (This is an important distinction from its cousin jeu de provençal.) The first player throws a jack (cochonnet) six to ten meters away with the caveat that the jack must be at least a meter from the circle.
Play
The game is played by two, four or six players. Each team gets three boules, unless you are playing in three teams of two in which case each team gets two boules. The player who threw the cochonnet, throws his first boule. A player on the next team throws a boule. The player who is farthest from the cochonnet throws his boule. He keeps throwing until he is closer to the cochonnet than his opponent or until he is out of boules.
If the boules are equidistant from the cochonnet, the boules are collected thrown again. Once one side runs out of boules, the scores are calculated (one point per boule that's closer to the cochonnet than your opponents) and a circle is drawn again. Players play as many rounds as it takes to reach thirteen points.
Pointers, Shooters and Milieus
In team play, there are actually "types of players". A pointer is someone who is particularly good at aiming the ball and getting close to the cochonnet. In general, pointers play first in team play.
Shooters, on the other hand, are particularly adept at moving their opponents boules or the cochonet to move their opponent further away from the target.
Milieus are those players who are good at both.
It Sounds Easy But. . .
While the rules are easy. . .the strategy can actually by quite complicated.
- You can move your opponent further away from the target by shooting and hitting the cochonnet.
- You can hit your opponent's boules to move them further away from the target.
- You can create a defensive "wall" in front of the cochonnet to prevent your opponent from rolling their boule to get the point.
There are a variety of strategies used when playing and championships--be they local or international garner attention and lots of news.
Resources for French Boules
- F.F.P.J.P. is the governing body of rules for boules in France.
- Pétanque America is an American governing body and source of information for those who want to play.
- Short video describing the game and how to play.
Learn More
This page has been accessed 296 times. This page was last modified 20:30, 30 April 2009.
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