Luke Judge

Here is my quick guide to how to play

How to playPétanque is a summer sport that I love – it is a great game in which two teams compete to throw their boules (hollow metal balls) as close as possible to a cochonnet or jack (a small wooden ball).Gravel or dirt!!The game is normally played on hard dirt or gravel, but can also be played on grass, sand or other surfaces. Players must throw their boules from within a starting circle. They must stand with both feet together on the ground. In singles and doubles games each player has three boules; in triples they have only two.Circles on the groundThe starting team (usually decided by a toss of a coin) draws a circle on the ground which is 35-50 centimetres in diameter: all players must throw their boules from within this circle, with both feet remaining on the ground.Throwing the boulesThe first player then throws the jack 6–10 metres away; it must be at least one metre from the boundary. They then throw their first boule. next, a player from the opposing team make their throw and play then continues with the team that is not closest to the jack until the position changes or they run out of boules. Play ends, when both teams have no more boules, or when the jack is knocked out of play.

Next week, I’ll be talking about the rules and how to score, along with some funny old pétanque traditions.

I’d be really interested to know what your favourite surface is to play on, so send me your comments.

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boules Petanque grass, position changes

Pétanque is a game that involves teamwork and strategy – these Greenridge Primary School pupils are discussing and gauging the distance of the ball (brown) to the jack (green).

Pétanque (pronounced pay-tong) is a sport that you may have never heard of, but it’s caught the interest of some pupils from Greenridge Primary School, the only school in Singapore that offers such a CCA. The objective of this game of French origin is similar to boules: Players stand with their feet together in a circle and take turns throwing a metallic ball such that it either lands closer to the object ball (known as a jack) than the balls of their opponent. Alternatively, they can try to knock the jack toward the other balls, away from the opponent’s. Typically, this game can be played in teams of two, four or six pupils (singles, doubles & triplettes respectively).

Greenridge Primary School pupils are no strangers to pétanque. It was established there in 2001 by Ms Vicki Heo, a former teacher who is a national pétanque player for Singapore and has won several SEA Games medals in this sport. She was so passionate about introducing pétanque to the pupils that she used her own money to fund the construction of a special pétanque court in the school.

boules Petanque balls, game, medals, objective, school pupils, tong