How to play Carrom / Carrom Rules
Carrom was invented by Indian Maharaj’s and was a very popular game in the past till today it is the most played board across the world. Carrom is growing aggressively around the world and played in clubs, carrom tournaments, and championships worldwide, it is necessary to How to play Carrom / Carrom Rules.
Carrom is a famous tabletop game that can be played on wooden or plastic-made boards. It is a 72-74 cm square-shaped board with 51 mm circular holes on each corner covered with a net. The striker, red-colored queen, and 18 carrom men 9 white and 9 black are used to playing this game.
Four or two players can play the game at a time, in two players’ games they are opposite each other while in four players there are two teams in the game one team sits opposite the other and vice versa.
How to play Carrom Offline?
You need to follow some simple steps to know How to play Carrom / Carrom Rules.
Setup Carrom Board
The first step is to set the board in a place where it is to be used. All you need to arrange a board with the above-given dimensions along with a striker, queen, and carrom men, a stand to put the board on it, a shadow light for better visibility, and powder sprayed on the board surface which helps the players to easily flick and pot.
Arrange the carrom pieces
Once the board is set up, now you need to arrange the carrom pieces on the board. You need to arrange all pieces in the center circle of the board. The piece queen is placed in the center and the carrom men are arranged clockwise around the queen.
Determine the first striker
Once the board is set and the pieces are arranged on the board, the next step is to determine who will strike first. For this purpose one player holds a piece in one hand and another player guesses in which hand the carrom piece is held. If a player guesses correctly he will strike first if not guess correctly the other player will strike first.
Place the striker touching both baselines
Now you have to place the striker on the board touching both baselines. The Baselines are the parallel lines on the four sides of the board. The striker must be placed within the rectangle created by the baseline.
A: The striker must be touching both baselines.
B: Also it should touch the circle lines at the corner.
C: The striker must be replaced after every shot.
Flick the striker
Now it’s time to strike the carrom men, different players use different ways to flick the striker. Normally players use the index or middle finger which is most comfortable.
A: Take the palm of your hand on the board, and cover the thumb with your middle or index finger directly behind the striker.
B: Apply resistance between finger and thumb and then flick your finger and hit the striker to flick it towards the board.
Break the pieces
Once the striker flicked it went through the arranged pieces available in the center of the board and broke them apart.
A: If the striker doesn’t leave both lines you have a chance to replace the striker and try again.
B: The first player has three chances to break the pieces.
Pass the striker if you fail to pocket the pieces
The goal of the game is to pocket all the pieces and win the game. Your turn continues as well as you keep pocketing the pieces in the hole, but if you fail to pocket your pieces or accidentally pocket on an opponent’s piece it is considered as foul and your turn is over.
Avoid pocketing your opponent’s pieces
If you pocket your opponent’s pieces into the hole your turn ends. If you pocket your opponent’s last piece into the hole you lose the game.
Cover the queen for 3 points
Queen is the red piece placed in the center of the board surrounded by the carrom men. It is the most valuable piece because pocketing the queen means adding 3 points to your total score. You can cover the queen after pocketing one of your pieces after the queen is pocketed.
A: If the queen and the other piece pocketed in the same shot you cover the queen.
B: Once the game reaches 22 points, the covering of the queen will be useless because no more points are issued for covering the queen.
End your turn by sinking the striker
If you sink the striker before sinking the last piece you lose your turn and one piece. Your opponent takes one piece from your pocket and places it in the center of the board. If you pocketed both the striker and piece you will get a chance to go again, but if you sink only the striker before the piece your turn ends.
Pocket all your pieces and win the board
Once you pocketed all your pieces you will be declared the winner and you will also collect one point against your opponent’s pieces remaining on the board.
Rules for Playing Carrom Online
As technology revolutionized every field of life it also put a significant impact on the gaming industry by taking the industry from offline to online. The game of carrom also turned online, the digital version of the game was developed and can be played on various devices like smartphones, tablets, PC, etc.
The online version comes with some features similar to offline and some advanced features such as you can play with any player of the world anytime from anywhere, without having any carrom board or other equipment. With its online features, it becomes easily accessible and more engaging, and more attractive.
Mostly the rules of online carrom are similar to offline however some of its online features which create differences between the two versions are discussed below,
No need for physical carrom equipment
The beauty of online is that you don’t need to buy physical equipment to play. It has a variety of strikers and other items similarly available in offline games. So, you do not have to set up a carrom board, and the chances of touching the lines and making fouls are less in the online version.
No physical appearance
In online games, you do not physically appear in any place for playing the game. You can virtually play it from anywhere where you are.
Final Thoughts
Carrom is not only a game to play for fun and enjoyment but it is also a skill to develop, so it is important to understand the rules of the game before starting a match. The Basic rules of the online and offline carrom are the same but we discussed some differences above.
Hopefully, this article is helpful for you to understand the basic and advanced rules of carrom offline & online versions. If you require any additional information please don’t hesitate to contact us.