Some players choose to lubricate the board with boric acid, potato starch, or chalk dust to allow the pieces to move more freely over the wood. This is representative of a traditional Carrom board. Other boards come in variations of sizes large enough to to push pieces as you would in shuffle board. Some boards can also be shaped in hexagons to allow for more players.
Advanced players often own a personal striker. These can be up to four times heavier than a piece and are commonly made of bone or ivory. [2] X Research source Each player can bring their own striker, or one striker can be shared among all the players.
Place another light piece along the same diagonal as the original one, and alternate dark and light pieces clockwise around the first circle of pieces, until you have completed an outer circle of pieces.
If the player chooses the incorrect hand, the player who held the piece will get to choose whether to strike first or pass to the other player. The first player can also be determined by flipping a coin.
Carrom is often played with four people playing as doubles. In this case, your partner is seated opposite you and assigned the same color pieces. Turns proceed clockwise in a game of doubles.
Players must remain seated. They can not get up from their chairs or move around the board. A player’s body must remain within their quadrant, which is created by the diagonal lines on the board. If those were to extend out past the board, this would be the player’s quadrant. Only a hand can cross the diagonal. Arms, legs, shoulders, and the rest of the body should not cross this imaginary line. Only your hand and arm can touch the board. Elbows must never touch the board. [7] X Research source
The striker must be touching both base lines. It can be placed directly in the center of the circle at the end of the lines. Otherwise, it should not touch the circle at all. The striker should also not be touching the diagonal lines in the corners. Replace the striker in the Carrom bed every time you shoot.
Rest the palm of your hand on the board. Touch your middle or index finger to your thumb, directly behind the striker. Apply some resistance on your finger, using your thumb, then flick your finger out and hit the striker to flick it across the board.
Shoot with your thumb by curling your index finger over the tip of your thumb. Apply pressure creating resistance on your thumb, then flick your thumb out of the finger lock to hit the striker. Create a scissor effect with your index and middle finger by slightly overlapping one over the other. Keeping both fingers straight, apply pressure with the top finger, then flick the bottom finger out in a scissor motion. This technique can also be used for a forward shot.
If the striker does not leave both lines, replace it and try again. The first player will get three chances to break. The player responsible for breaking alternates with each game. If you are playing doubles with four people, the turn moves counter-clockwise.
When you fail to pocket a piece, or accidentally pocket the opponent’s piece, your turn is over.
The goal is to collect 25 points or 8 boards to win.
If one of your pieces is pocketed on the same shot when you sink the queen, this counts for covering the queen. The winner of the board collects three points if they also pocketed the queen. If the losing opponent pocketed the queen, no one gets the queen points for that board. Once the game reaches 22 points, no more points are issued for covering the queen.
You lose the board, three points and a point for each of your opponent’s remaining pieces if you sink your last piece before covering the queen.
If you have not yet pocketed a piece, it will be placed in the center when you do. If you sink both your piece and the striker, your piece is placed in the center of the board and you get to go again.
