How to play pétanque

Teams

• Triples (triplette): 2 teams of 3 players, 2 boules each
• Doubles (doublette): 2 teams of 2 players, 3 boules each
• Singles (tête-à-tête): 1 against 1, 3 boules each

Equipment

• 2 or 3 identical metal boules per player, depending on the format: 7 to 8 cm in diameter, 650 to 800 g
• 1 jack (cochonnet) made of wood or synthetic material: 30 mm in diameter, 10 to 18 g

The playing area

• With friends: any reasonably flat ground will do (gravel, sand, packed earth…)
• In competition: 4 m wide by 15 m long (at least 3 m by 12 m)

Throwing the jack

• The throwing circle: 35 to 50 cm in diameter (drawn on the ground), or 50 cm for a rigid circle, at least 1 m from any obstacle
• The jack must land between 6 m and 10 m from the circle
• The jack must be visible from the circle and at least 1 m from any obstacle

Playing an end

• A coin toss decides who throws the jack
• The team that throws the jack plays the first boule (feet fully inside the circle until the boule touches the ground)
• After that, the team that doesn't hold the point always plays next (holding the point = having the boule closest to the jack)
• When a team has no boules left, the other team plays all its remaining boules
• Once all the boules have been played, the points are counted

Scoring

• Only the boules of the team holding the point score
• Each boule closer to the jack than the opponents' best boule = 1 point
• A game is played to 13 points
• The team that wins the end throws the jack for the next end, from where it came to rest

If the jack leaves the playing area

• If the jack leaves the playing area during an end, there are 2 cases:
• 1) Both teams still have boules, or neither has any left: the end is void, and the jack goes to the team that won the previous end (or the coin toss).
• 2) Only one team still has boules: it scores as many points as it has boules left.

The vocabulary

• End (mène): a round; it finishes once all the boules have been played
• Holding the point: having the boule closest to the jack
• Pointing (pointer): throwing your boule so it stops as close to the jack as possible
• Shooting (tirer): throwing your boule to knock away an opponent's boule (or the jack)
• Carreau: a perfect shot, where your boule knocks the target away and takes its place
• Donnée: the spot where your boule lands when you point
• Fanny: losing a game 13–0

This is a summary of the main rules. For the complete official rules, see the FFPJP/FIPJP document (PDF, in French).

Open the score counter