Saturday, August 25, 2012

Carrom

Carrom by firoze shakir photographerno1
Carrom, a photo by firoze shakir photographerno1 on Flickr.


From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Carrom is a family of tableboard games with gameplay that lies somewhere between billiards and table shuffleboard. Carrom is known by many names around the world and the formal rules for the game were not published until 1988.

Sources suggest that the game originated in India, country also the origin of other well known board games such as Chess, Snakes and Ladders and Ludo among many other less known ones.
The International Carrom Federation (ICF) was formed in the year 1988 in the city of Chennai, India. In the same year, this Federation officially codified the rules of the game. The game is not only very popular in South Asia but has also become increasingly popular in Europe and the United States thanks to the Indian diaspora.

In India and Pakistan, the game is played on a board made of plywood. The dimensions of the standardised Indian game is a 29 inches (74 cm) square playing surface on a board of lacquered plywood. The edges of the playing surface are bounded by bumpers of wood, and the underside of each pocket is covered by a net which is 10 cm2 or larger.[1]
The objective of play is to use a striker disk with a flick of the finger to make contact with and move lighter object disks called carrom men, which are thus propelled into one of four corner pockets.
Carrom is played on the board using uniform, small disks of wood or sometimes plastic, called carrom men (also carrom-men, carrommen), sometimes abbreviated c/m. Carrom men are also known by colloquial terms such as seed, coin, puck, or goti). Carrom men have a smooth movement in a flat position on the surface of the carrom board when hit by a striker of standard specification.
Carrom men are used in three distinct colours. Two colours are meant to represent invidual or team opponents. These colours are white (or unstained) and black. Red is a special colour that designates the queen.
ICF approved pieces must have a diameter of no more than 3.18 cm and no less than 3.02 cm. The pieces must be at least 7 mm and at most 9 mm thick. The pieces have a plain, rounded edge. The mass of the pieces is within 5 g and 5.5 g.
The red coin (or disk or seed) is called the queen. The queen is the most powerful carrom piece. During board setup, it is placed at the centre of the circle. In accordance with the ICF rules, pocketing the queen adds 3 points to the player's total score. The dimensions of the queen must be the same as those of other carrom men. [2]
The player must pocket the queen and subsequently pocket a carrom man of the player's own color. This is termed covering the queen.
If the player fails to pocket a subsequent carrom man, the queen is replaced at the centre of the circle.
If the player subsequently pockets a carrom man of the color chosen by the other player, the queen is awarded to the opponent.
If the player pockets his or his opponent's last carrom man before pocketing the queen, he loses the game. (In some variants, the carrom man is placed back on the board)

The striker is larger and heavier than the carrom men. According to rules, "the striker is smooth and round, with a diameter that does not exceed 4.13 cm.
[edit]Powder
Fine-grained powder is used on the board to enable the pieces to slide easily. Boric acid powder is the most commonly used for this purpose.[3][4]
In the UK, many players use a version of anti-set-off spray powder from the printing industry which has specific electrostatic properties with particles of 50 micrometres in diameter. The powder is made from pure, food-grade vegetable starch.

Main article: International_Carrom_Federation


Carrom board
The ICF promulgates International Rules of Carrom (also termed "The Laws of Carrom") ICF acts as the governing body of carrom. The organisation also ranks players, sanctions tournaments and presents awards. ICF has many national affiliates such as the All-India Carrom Federation, Australian Carrom Federation, UK Carrom Association and United States Carrom Association.
[edit]The toss
Order of play is determined by the process of "calling the carrom men" or "the toss". Before commencing each match, an umpire hides one black and one white carrom man in his hands. The players must guess which color carrom men are being held in each hand. The player who guesses correctly wins the toss.
The winner of the toss must either choose to strike first or to change sides (from white to black) and give up the opening break. No option to pass this decision to the other player is available. If the player chooses to strike, the loser can change sides, but if the winner chooses to change sides the loser must strike first. The player taking the first shot (or break) gets to play white. The opponent plays black.
[edit]Shooting
The aim of the game is to pot(or pocket) one's own nine carrom men before one's opponent pots his/hers. It is necessary that the queen be pocketed before pocketing a player's final carrom man. Any player pocketing the queen is required to cover it by pocketing a carrom man of his/her chosen color. The player is allowed to shoot with any finger, including the thumb (known as "thumbing" or a "thumb shot" or a "thumb hit").
Crossing the diagonal lines on the board by coming in touch with it, or pocketing the striker is a foul. A player needs to ensure that his striking hand does not infringe/cross the diagonal lines aerially/physically. A player committing a foul must return one carrom man that was already pocketed. If a player pockets his striker, he has to pay a penalty. This penalty is usually 10 points.
[edit]Point carrom

Point Carrom is a variant that is popular with children or an odd number of players. Game play is as described above with a variation. Players are allowed to pocket carrom men of any colour. Carrom men of black colour are assigned 1 point and white colour are assigned 2 points. The red queen is assigned 5 points. Pocketing the queen must be followed by pocketing another carrom man on the same or subsequent strike. The first player to reach 17 points is declared the winner. If no player reaches 17 points, the player with the highest points is declared the winner. If the scores are tied, a tie-breaker must be played. Players who are tied (in points) select a colour. They are allowed to pocket carrom men of an alternate colour only on rebound.
[edit]Total point carrom

Total point carrom is a variant of point carrom, in which the black carrom men are worth 5 points and the white ones are worth 10 points. The red queen is assigned 50 points and must have a subsequent carrom men pocketed after it. To win, a player must receive all the carrom men on the board. After the first round the player or team with the lowest score puts all their carrom men in the center. The others must match this score in the center and the players play for the carrom men in the center. They repeat this until one team or player has all the carrom men. This style of play is widely accepted in many areas of south Asia.
[edit]Board variations

Carrom boards are available in various board sizes and corner pocket sizes. There are smaller boards and boards with larger pockets. Boards with larger pockets are used by beginners for easier game play. On traditional carrom boards, the corner pockets are only slightly larger than the carrom men, but smaller than the striker. On boards with larger pockets, it is possible to pocket the striker, resulting in a "scratch shot" as in Pool. This results in a "due." On a "due", the player has to replace one previously pocketed carrom man on the board. When the scores are tied at a point in the carrom game, a tie-breaker is played. The team which has pocketed the "queen" does not gain any advantage.
[edit]A Japanese carrom

Carrom was introduced to Japan in the last years of the Meiji period or Taishō period by someone from India and in the early.

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