French billiards

What are the rules?

You’re probably familiar with American billiards, with its six holes and colourful balls, but do you know the rules and finesse of French billiards?

French billiards, also known as carom, is a billiards game played on a rectangular table without pockets. Here are the basic rules of French billiards:

1. The Players: The game is usually played with two players, but it can also be played in teams of two.
2. The balls: The game uses three balls, generally white, yellow and red.
3. Start of the game: The balls are placed in a pyramid shape in the centre of the table.
4. The Initial Shot: The player starting the game must hit the white ball in such a way as to hit the other two balls.
5. Scoring: Points are scored by making carambolas, i.e. hitting the other two balls with the cue ball.
6. Carom shots: There are various ways of scoring points, including direct carom shots (when the cue ball hits the other two balls), indirect carom shots (when the cue ball hits a cushion before hitting the other balls), and series carom shots (when a player makes several carom shots in a row in the same end).
7. The End of the Round: A round ends when a player reaches a certain predefined number of points.
8. Fouls : There are several rules concerning fouls, such as touching a ball with the hand, not touching a ball after the initial impact, or making a positional foul.
9. Special shots: Certain special shots, such as the series of shots, can allow the player to score extra points.
10. Rounds: A game of French billiards generally consists of several rounds.

These basic rules may vary slightly depending on the variant of French billiards, but they are a good starting point for understanding the game. It is always advisable to consult the specific rules of the place where you are playing to make sure you follow the local rules.

A large board

With a playing surface of 2.40 x 1.20 metres, our solid wood billiards table attracts both beginners and experienced players. A stay at Kerbeleg is a good opportunity to discover this fine game, typical of our French tradition.

Six billiard sticks, including one for children, are available for you to play at any time.

“Bille, really? But this isn’t the school playground!

Would it ever occur to you to talk about “Boulard”? So we’re talking about marbles. They may be big, but they’re not balls. We keep this term for games of Pétanque in the garden or for Bowling in Quimperlé.