You’ve probably played a form of Petanque on holiday, perhaps at the beach with a set of plastic or metal boules bought in a supermarket, so you’re already halfway there! In the more organised structure of a club or a league there are some rules but the basic idea is that players take turns to throw metal boules in order to get closest to a small wooden ball -the “jack” or “coche”. Unlike other sports where there can be barriers for new players to overcome even before they’ve decided whether they like it or not, in Petanque newcomers can learn the basics and have an enjoyable game at a first session. You don’t have to have played before, there are no special clothing rules and, though you’ll want to get your own boules in time, there’s no need for special equipment as we have a selection of boules for new members to use. Above all it’s a social game and, at the Ship, the social side is at least as important as the playing of Petanque.
Petanque is one of the Boules family of games that also include Bocce, Boule Lyonnaise and Raffa, in all of which boules or balls are thrown towards a target. The game of Petanque originated in the south of France as an offshoot of the Boules Lyonnaise version but instead of taking a run-up before throwing the boule, In Petanque the balls are thrown from a stationary position, which is where the name comes from – pieds tanqués, “feet planted” (on the ground). Thesesdays, however, most of us tend to use the terms “boules” or “petanque” interchangeably.
Since the first tournament in France in 1910, the game spread rapidly throughout France and beyond. It is particularly strong in Western Europe but there are also active Petanque federations in Africa and Asia too, particularly in Francophone territories. The international federation for Petanque is the Fédération Internationale de Pétanque et Jeu Provençal, or FIPJP. In England the game is managed by the Petanque England which has a useful website with lots of information about clubs, competitions and Petanque basics .
How is the game played?
We play Petanque with hollow steel balls, or boules which are certified by FIPJP to to withstand landing on hard ground or being whacked by other balls! The cheaper leisure balls sold in some shops are fine for the beach or the garden but at the Ship and in most official competitions only certified boules are used. The game can be played on many types of surface but in the UK it’s mostly played on a gravel-topped terrain at least 12m long. Sometimes terrains are organised into lanes so that several games can take place at once. In this arrangement, games are normally played between two teams of two players, each with three boules or two teams of three players, each with two boules. There is also a singles game which is sometimes played at the Ship, and in competitions. Players generally have their own set of three identical boules, each of a weight that suits their strength and throwing style and a diameter suitable for the size of their hand.
Teams toss a coin to see who goes first then the starting team puts down the throwing circle throws a small wooden ball (known as a jack or “coche”) which should end up between 6 and 10 metres from the circle, The starting team’s first player then throws the first boule, trying to close to the coche. Then it’s the opposition’s turn and they may choose to “point”, i.e., get close to the coche, or “shoot”, which is to try and knock the opponents’ boule away from the coche. The game proceeds with the team whose boule isn’t closest to the coche playing their boules until their boule is closest (in which case it’s their opponents’ turn) or they’ve thrown all their boules. When all the boules have been thrown then team whose boule is closest to the coche wins that “end”. That team gets as many points as boules they have closer than their opponents. The game proceeds with the circle at or near to where the coche ended up and the team that won the last end throws first. In this way the game proceeds until one team achieves 13 points.
That was a very brief explanation of how to play but the best way to learn is to try the game. We all started as beginners and at the Ship we’ll show you the ropes.