The Game
Carrom is one of the world's great tabletop sports — precision, touch, and tactics on a square board. This is how it is played under the International Carrom Federation (ICF).
What is carrom?
Carrom is a strike-and-pocket tabletop game of Indian origin. Two players — or two pairs in doubles — sit at a square board and use a larger disc called the striker to flick smaller carrom men into the four corner pockets. It blends the geometry of billiards with the fine finger control of a flicking sport, making it easy to learn but difficult to master.
The International Carrom Federation (ICF), founded in 1988 in Chennai, India, and now headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, is the global governing body that publishes the official Laws of Carrom, sanctions world championships, and ranks players worldwide.
The objective
Each side is assigned a colour — white or black — and tries to pocket all nine of their carrom men before the opponent does. The red queen, the most valuable piece on the board, must be pocketed and then "covered" by pocketing one of your own carrommen in the same stroke or the immediate subsequent stroke. The side that clears its pieces first wins the board. A game is normally decided at 25 points or after the prescribed number of boards, depending on the competition format.
How a board unfolds
- The toss. The umpire conducts the toss. The winner chooses either the side or the option to break first.
- The break. The player who breaks plays the white carrommen. The striker must be positioned legally on the base lines or base circle.
- Turns. A player's turn continues as long as they legally pocket their own carrommen and/or the queen. Otherwise, the turn passes to the opponent.
- Covering the queen. The queen must be covered by pocketing one of the player's own carrommen in the same or immediate subsequent stroke.
- Fouls. Common fouls include pocketing the striker, making an improper stroke, and violating playing-position or board restrictions. Penalties depend on the type of infringement and can include returning carrommen to the board, losing a turn, or other consequences specified by the Laws.
- End of the board. The board ends as soon as the last carrom man is pocketed. The winner scores one point for each of the opponent's remaining carrom men and three points for the queen if it was covered by the winner.