Petanque court

In its simplicity, pétanque is all about throwing your balls as close as possible to the small wooden or plastic ball, called the pig.

The beginning of the game

You start by standing behind the back line of the court when you throw. Before the game, a draw is made to decide which team goes first. The winner throws out the pig so that it lands well behind the back line.

The team then chooses the order in which the players throw. The first player tries to place their ball as close as possible to the pig. Next, the opposing team gets the chance to place a ball closer.

The tour orders

As soon as one team has a ball placed closer to the pig than the opponent, the turn passes to the other team. This continues until all balls have been thrown. If a team runs out of balls, the opponent continues playing with the rest of their balls.

Point

When all balls have been thrown, the points are counted. Only one team scores in each round: the team with the ball closest to the pig. The number of points corresponds to how many of their balls are closer than their opponent's closest ball.

The team that scores also gets to throw out the pig in the next round.
The team that first reaches 13 points, wins the match.

Dead bullet and dead pig

• The pig is hit but stays on the pitch: The game continues with the pig in its new location.

• Lines, edges and walls: are considered "dead". If a ball hits these, it is out of the game (but will return in the next round).

• The pig dies (e.g. bounces out of the field): The game ends.

  • If only one team has balls left, they get points equal to the number of balls they have yet to throw.

  • If both teams still have balls, no points are awarded and a new round begins immediately.

Team division

• Triple: Three on three, two balls per player.

• Double: two against two, three balls per player.

• Single: One on one, three balls per player.

Have a great time!