Carrom

Carrom is a very popular indoor game. The game is very popular in India. Similar games are played throughout the world, and may or may not share common origins with carrom. The standardized Indian game is played on a board of lacquered plywood, normally with a 2 inch !"# cm$ square playing surface. The edges of the playing surface are bounded by bumpers of wood, and the bottom of the board is covered by a net with a %& cm2 or larger capacity.'2( Instead of the balls of billiards games, carrom uses dis)s. The ob*ect of the game is to stri)e or flic) with a finger a comparatively heavy dis) called a +stri)er+ such that it contacts lighter object dis)s called +carrom,men+ and propels them into one of four corner poc)ets. Carrom,men - carrom,man is a usually wooden !sometimes plastic$, uniform small dis). The Carrom, men have a smooth movement in a flat position on the surface of the carrom board when hit by a stri)er of standard specification. The carrom,men come in two colors denoting the two players !or, in doubles play, teams$. Traditionally, these colors are white !or unstained$ and blac). The brea)er always plays white. -n additional, special carrom,man is colored red and called the +queen+. .ieces have a diameter of no more than /.%0 cm and no less than /.&2 cm, and must be between " mm and mm thic), with an edge that is round and plain, and a weight of 12 1.1 g The red !or sometimes pin)$ queen is the most powerful carrom piece. It is placed at the center of the circle. If a player wins the board with the queen, this adds three / +queen points+ to the player3s total score. - player has the right to poc)et the queen and to cover it provided a carrom,man of the player3s own has already been poc)eted. The stri)er is a larger, heavier piece, flic)ed with the finger to hit the carrom,men and )noc) them into the corner poc)ets or into each other. The stri)er has a diameter not more than #.%/ cm.+.'2( Its weight should not be more than %1 grams. 4ules and regulations The toss 5rder of play is determined by the process of +calling the carrom,men+ or, simply, +the toss+. 6efore the commencement of each match, in formal play, an umpire hides one blac) and one white carrom,men in his hands and the players have to guess which carrom,men are being held in each hand. The player who wins the toss must either choose to stri)e first or to change sides !from white to blac)$ and give up the opening brea). 7o option to pass this decision to the other player is available. If the player

chooses to stri)e, the loser can change sides, but if the winner chooses to change sides the loser must stri)e first.In a doubles event, the team winning the toss has the choice, as above. 5nce the toss,losers have sat down, they may not interchange. This order of sitting continues throughout the match.

Shooting
The aim of the game is to pot one3s own nine carrom men before one3s opponent pots his8hers. 9owever, before sin)ing one3s final carrom man, the queen must be poc)eted and then +covered+ by poc)eting one of one3s own carrom men on the same or subsequent stri)e. :ouls, such as crossing the diagonal lines on the board with any part of one3s body, or potting the stri)er, lead to carrom men being returned to the board. The player is allowed to shoot with any finger, including the thumb !)nown as +thumbing+ or a +thumb shot+$. -t any point of time the player should not stri)e any of the coins on the diagonal line closer to the player.