About the sport of pétanque

History

Pétanque shares roots with a number of other boules sports such as bocce, lawn bowls, and even curling. Similar games are known to have been played in ancient Greco-Roman culture. A French version of the game was popular throughout the nineteenth century, taking its modern form in 1910 based on rules developed in the town of La Ciotat in southern France. The name derives from the Provençal dialect spoken in the region. At the time, the game was often played in a style that involved running a few steps prior to throwing, but the version developed in La Ciotat required the player to stand still — the words pè (foot) and tanca (planted or staked) became pétanque.

The boules used in pétanque were originally made of wood, with nails later added for increased durability, eventually leading to boules made entirely of metal. Modern boules are made of steel, with a weight between 650 and 800 grams.

Playing the Game

Games are played between two opposing teams. Teams may be composed of one, two, or three players each. With single or double teams, each player has three boules to play; with triple teams, each player has only two boules.

Pétanque may be played on any surface. It does not require groomed courts, but players often prefer a level space with a firm surface covered by a layer of fine gravel. This creates a mixture of control and unpredictability that makes the game interesting, and boards are often used to contain the boules.

Games are played in a series of rounds (often called an "end" — or mène, in French) until one of the teams scores 13 points. The current player stands or crouches with their feet inside a 50cm circle. This can simply be drawn on the ground, but often a prefabricated plastic circle is used for convenience. Each end begins with the first player throwing out a small target ball (which has many names — cochonnet, but, bouchon, or jack), which must stop within 6–10 meters of the circle (if it's outside this range, the other team gets to move it to a spot within the legal distance).

Boules are typically thrown in an underhand style, palm-down, so the wrist can put backspin on the boule to help with controlling the roll. When a team has the closest boule to the target, they are said to be "holding the point" and it becomes the other team's turn to play until they either "take the point" or run out of boules. The end is scored once all boules have been played.

The number of points is determined by counting the boules on the ground by their distance from the target — the team with the closest boule gets one point for each boule they have that is closer to the target than all of their opponents' boules. In other words, the closest boule always awards one point to the team that played it; if the second closest boule belongs to the same team, it gains them a second point (and so forth). But if that second closest boule belongs to the opposing team, the count would stop and only one point would be awarded.

Not every boule is played with the goal of "pointing" close to the target. It is also valuable to "shoot" by striking an opponent's boule and knocking it out of play. With experience, players often specialize in one role or the other, and the level of precision achieved by top players can be dazzling!

The best way to learn is to join in a game!

Equipment

Pétanque is an extremely accessible sport. In most club settings, any metal boules are acceptable, but tournaments usually require that they meet certain specifications. However, tournament-quality boules are quite affordable, and even top-of-the-line professional models cost less than a set of golf clubs. The main source of quality pétanque equipment in the US is Pétanque America.