Carrom

Carrom board

Carrom (also known as Karrom) is a "strike and pocket" table game of Eastern origin similar to billiards and table shuffleboard. It is found throughout the East under different names though most non-eastern people know it by the East Asian name of Carroms (or Karrom). It is very popular in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and surrounding areas. In Pakistan, many clubs and cafes have regular tournaments. Carrom board is very commonly played within families and other functions. Different standards and rules exist in different areas.

Origins

The International Carrom Federation (ICF) was formed in the year 1988 in the city of Chennai, India. The formal rules for the Indian version of the game were published in 1988. In the same year the ICF officially codified the rules. The game is very popular throughout South Asia mainly India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka etc. and has gained some popularity in Europe and the United States where it has been introduced by the Indian diaspora. The board and pieces can be bought in Europe or the USA and are usually imported from India. The most expensive boards are made to a high standard with good quality wood and decorations though cheaper boards are available.

Equipment

In India and Pakistan, the game is played on a board made of plywood. The dimensions of the standardised game is a 29 inches (74 cm) square playing surface on a board of lacquered plywood. The edges of the playing surface are bounded by bumpers of wood, and the underside of each pocket is covered by a net which is 10 cm² or larger.

The objective of play is to use a striker disk with a flick of the finger to make contact with and move lighter object disks called carrom men, which are thus propelled into one of four corner pockets.

Carrom men

Carrom men and two strikers, arranged at the start of a game

Carrom is played using small disks of Wood or Plastic known as carrom men, sometimes abbreviated c/m. The pieces are also known as Goti, seed, coin or puck. Carrom men are designed to slide when struck and are made with a smooth surface that allows contact with the board when the pieces are laid flat. They are struck by a Striker of standard specification which is larger and heavier. Carrom follows similar "strike and pocket" games, like pool, with its use of Rebounds, Angles and Obstruction of opponent's pieces.

A carrom set contains 19 pieces (striker not included) in three distinct colours. Two colours to represent the player's pieces and one colour for the Queen. The usual colours are white (or unstained) and black for the player's and red for the queen.

ICF approved pieces must have a diameter of no more than 3.18 cm and no less than 3.02 cm. The pieces must be at least 7 mm and at most 9 mm thick. The pieces have a plain, rounded edge. The mass of the pieces is within 5 g and 5.5 g.

The Queen

The queen

The red coin (or disk or seed) is called the queen. The queen is the most powerful carrom piece. During board setup, it is placed at the centre of the circle. In accordance with the ICF rules, pocketing the queen adds 3 points to the player's total score. The dimensions of the queen must be the same as those of other carrom men.

• The player must pocket the queen and subsequently pocket a carrom man of the player's own colour. This is termed covering the queen.
• If the player fails to pocket a subsequent carrom man, the queen is replaced at the centre of the circle.
• If the player subsequently pockets a carrom man of the colour chosen by the other player, the queen is awarded to the opponent.
• If the player pockets his or his opponent's last carrom man before pocketing the queen, he loses the game. (In some variants, the carrom man is placed back on the board)

The Striker

The striker is larger and heavier than the carrom men. According to rules, "the striker is smooth and round, with a diameter that does not exceed 4.13 cm. It is sometimes called a "puck".

Powder

Fine-grained 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 UK, many players use a version of anti-set-off spray powder from the printing industry which has specific electrostatic properties with particles of 50 micrometres in diameter. The powder is made from pure, food-grade vegetable starch.

Standardised rules and regulations

Main article: International_Carrom_Federation

The ICF promulgates International Rules of Carrom (also termed "The Laws of Carrom") ICF acts as the governing body of carrom. The organisation also ranks players, sanctions tournaments and presents awards. ICF has many national affiliates such as the All-India Carrom Federation, Australian Carrom Federation, UK Carrom Association and United States Carrom Association.

The toss

Order of play is determined by the process of "calling the carrom men" or "the toss". Before commencing each match, an umpire hides one black and one white carrom man in his hands. The players must guess which color carrom men are being held in each hand. The player who guesses correctly wins the toss.

The winner of 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. The player taking the first shot (or break) gets to play white. The opponent plays black.

Shooting

The aim of the game is to pot (or pocket) one's nine carrom men and the Queen before your opponent. A successful pot entitles the player to shoot again. This means that, like pool and snooker, a player may pot all his pieces and cover the Queen from the break without his opponent being given the chance to shoot. Any player pocketing the Queen is required to cover it by immediately pocketing one of their carrom man on the entitlement shot. If after potting the Queen the player fails to cover it then the Queen is returned to the center of the table. It is illegal to pot the Queen before your last piece since the Queen must always be covered. The player is allowed to shoot with any finger, including the thumb (known as "thumbing" or a "thumb shot" or a "thumb hit"). In some tournaments "thumbing" is not allowed. No back shot is allowed.

Crossing the diagonal lines on the board by coming in touch with it, or pocketing the striker is a foul. A player needs to ensure that his striking hand does not infringe/cross the diagonal lines aerially/physically. A player committing a foul must return one carrom man that was already pocketed. If a player pockets his striker, he has to pay a penalty. This penalty is usually 10 points.

Common Rule # 1: Family-Point Carrom game

Simple-Point Carrom is a variant that is very popular within children, seniors, women or an odd number of players. Players are allowed to pocket carrom men of any colour. Typically mojority of people follow following simple rules:

• The objective of play is to use a striker disk with a flick of the finger to make contact with and move lighter object goti (or puck) into one of four corner pockets.
• Typically Black color goti/coin gives 5 points, white/khaki color (or non-black) goti gives 10 pints and Red color coin/goti (Queen) gives 50 points to Corrom man/woman.
• Pocketing the queen must be followed by pocketing another goti on the same strike. To get Red color coin/goti (Queen) points, one needs to put additional goti (of any color) after queen. If covering queen attempt fail, queen will be put back to center of board.
• Highest number player or team will win.
• Sets of 1, 3 or 5 are common.
• With points system, if one team/player gets queen points at early stages, still other have good chance to win by earning more points.
• This style of play is widely accepted in many areas of South Asia and quite popular in house wives.

Common Rule # 2: Point Carrom game

Point Carrom is a variant that is popular with children or an odd number of players. Game play is as described above with a variation. Players are allowed to pocket carrom men of any colour.

• Carrom men of black colour are assigned 1 point and white colour are assigned 2 points.
• The red queen is assigned 5 points.
• Pocketing the queen must be followed by pocketing another carrom man on the same or subsequent strike.
• The first player to reach 17 points is declared the winner.
• If no player reaches 17 points, the player with the highest points is declared the winner. If the scores are tied, a tie-breaker must be played. Players who are tied (in points) select a colour. They are allowed to pocket carrom men of an alternate colour only on rebound.
• This style of play is common in some areas of East Asia.

Common Rule #3: Total-Point Carrom game

• Total point carrom is a variant of point carrom, in which the black carrom men are worth 5 points and the white ones are worth 10 points.
• The red queen is assigned 50 points and must have a subsequent carrom men pocketed after it.
• To win, a player must receive all the carrom men on the board.
• After the first round the player or team with the lowest score puts all their carrom men in the center.
• The others must match this score in the center and the players play for the carrom men in the center.
• They repeat this until one team or player has all the carrom men.
• This style of play is widely accepted in many areas of Inida and Pakistan.

Common Rule #4: Total-Color Carrom game

• Each team or player assigned a color goti and can only pocket that color goti.
• No points system in this type of game.
• Pocketing the queen must be followed by pocketing another goti on the same strike.

Board variations

Carrom boards are available in various board sizes and corner pocket sizes. There are smaller boards and boards with larger pockets. Boards with larger pockets are used by beginners for easier game play. On traditional carrom boards, the corner pockets are only slightly larger than the carrom men, but smaller than the striker. On boards with larger pockets, it is possible to pocket the striker, resulting in a "scratch shot" as in Pool. This results in a "due." On a "due", the player has to replace one previously pocketed carrom man on the board. When the scores are tied at a point in the carrom game, a tie-breaker is played. The team which has pocketed the "queen" does not gain any advantage.

Japanese carrom

Carrom was introduced to Japan in the early 20th century. Carrom became popular as tokyu-ban ("fight ball board" or "throw ball board") and it fell in popularity in Showa period. However, carrom is still popular in Hikone, Shiga.

In popular culture

• In 2010 a Hindi "Bollywood" film titled Striker was released. The movie focuses on carrom hustlers in Mumbai in the 1980s.
• The Hindi film Ankush showed ability of carrom in helping four unemployed youth 'escape' painful realities of life.
• A Tamil film called Vilayaada Vaa released in 2012 was also focussed on carrom board.
• Indian movies Munnabhai MBBS and it's Telugu remake - Shankar Dada MBBS, Tamil remake - Vasool Raja MBBS also features a movie scene with Munnabhai playing carrom to heal an elderly friend with his friends and an Orange Juice