How to Play Carrom

By Jaques of London · Est. 1795 · Updated 2026-08-17

Carrom is a tabletop game played on a smooth square board, combining the precision of billiards with the accessibility of a family game. Players flick a heavy plastic disc called the striker across the board to knock lighter discs, called carrom men, into the corner pockets. Games are fast, competitive, and satisfying at any skill level.

It is a staple in homes and clubs across South Asia and the Middle East, and has a dedicated following in the UK. Because it needs no electricity, fits on any table, and rewards practice, it is equally at home in a living room, a community centre, or a school lunch hall.

A little history

Carrom's origins are unclear; it is widely believed to have developed in the Indian subcontinent sometime in the eighteenth or nineteenth century, and the first standardised rules are traditionally associated with South Asian sporting clubs in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The Carrom Federation of India, established in the twentieth century, helped codify competitive rules that are now broadly followed internationally. Beyond these broadly documented facts, specific claims about invention or early spread should be treated with caution.

Setting up

1. Place the board on a stable table so the playing surface sits roughly waist-height when players are seated.
2. Sprinkle a light, even layer of board powder across the entire playing surface to reduce friction.
3. Arrange the 19 carrom men in the centre circle: place the red queen in the exact centre, then surround it with 6 pieces alternating black and white, then add an outer ring of the remaining 12 pieces, also alternating colours, with a black piece pointing toward each diagonal.
4. Decide who breaks first by mutual agreement, coin toss, or by each player flicking the striker from the baseline toward the far end, with the player landing closest to the far baseline going first.
5. In a 2-player game, each player sits at one of the two baselines facing each other. In a 4-player game, partners sit opposite each other and play as a team.

How to play

1. Players take turns in sequence. On your turn you must place the striker on your baseline rectangle and flick it using one finger.
2. The striker must be positioned so it touches both baseline lines or sits between them; it must not be placed in front of or behind the baseline.
3. Flick the striker with a single finger from a stationary hand position. Common techniques include the index-finger flick, the thumb flick, and the scissors grip. No pushing, dragging, or two-handed shots are allowed.
4. Your goal is to pocket your allocated colour (black or white, decided by who breaks). The player who breaks takes whichever colour they first pocket legally; the other player takes the remaining colour.
5. If you pocket one or more of your own carrom men, your turn continues. If you pocket none of your own pieces or commit a foul, your turn ends and passes to the next player.
6. The queen: any player may pocket the queen, but to 'cover' it you must pocket one of your own carrom men on the same stroke or on your very next successful stroke. If you pocket the queen but fail to cover it, the queen is returned to the centre of the board.
7. If you pocket the striker, this is a foul: your turn ends, and you must return one of your already-pocketed carrom men to the centre of the board (if you have none pocketed, the debt is paid when you do pocket one in a future turn).
8. If you pocket an opponent's carrom man, it counts for the opponent; your turn ends.
9. If the striker or a carrom man leaves the board completely, it is returned to the centre spot. If the striker knocks a carrom man off the board, that piece is returned to the centre.
10. Play continues until one player or team pockets all of their carrom men and has covered the queen. That player or team wins the board.

Winning and scoring

Carrom is played over multiple boards (rounds). At the end of each board, the winner scores points equal to the number of the loser's carrom men still on the board, up to a maximum of 8 points per board. The player who covered the queen scores a bonus 3 points on top of that, provided they won the board; if they lost the board, the 3-point queen bonus goes to the winner instead. The first player or team to reach 25 points wins the match. In tournament play a match may alternatively be decided over a fixed number of boards with the highest score at the end winning.

The fine points

The most common dispute involves the queen cover. If a player pockets the queen and the striker on the same shot, it is a foul: the queen returns to the centre and the player loses a pocketed piece as penalty. The queen can only be covered by a separate, legally pocketed carrom man. Another frequent argument arises from the 'due' rule: if a player has no pocketed carrom men when they commit a striker foul, they owe one piece to the centre from future pockets; this debt carries forward until it is paid and should be tracked openly so both sides agree.

On the break shot, the striker must visibly move at least one carrom man or touch the central circle; if it does not, the shot is a foul and the next player breaks instead. In doubles, partners may not verbally coach each other on shot selection during an active turn, though brief discussion between turns is generally permitted in casual play. When a carrom man is on or partly covering a baseline, it stays in place and may be played around.

How to win more often

• Control the queen early: pocketing it at the start of a board forces you to cover it immediately, which is easier when many of your pieces are still in play and you can pot one cleanly on the next shot.
• Aim for the 'thumb shot' into corners rather than always targeting centre-pocket rebounds; corner shots are often more predictable because they use a single cushion rather than two.
• Use defensive play deliberately: if you have fewer pieces left than your opponent, slow the game by leaving your carrom men near pockets rather than clustering them at centre, making them easy to pot when your turn comes.
• Keep powder fresh: if shots start to feel heavy or the striker curves unexpectedly, ask to apply a small additional dusting of board powder. A faster surface rewards precision and benefits the more skilled player.
• In doubles, coordinate with your partner on which pieces to leave in accessible positions; a piece near a pocket is a gift your partner can finish on their turn.

Variations

Points Carrom

Instead of tracking board wins, players score 1 point for each of their carrom men pocketed during the game, plus 5 points for the queen if covered by the winner. The player with the highest cumulative point total after an agreed number of turns or a time limit wins. This format suits beginners because every pocket feels rewarding regardless of who wins the board.

Family (Total Points) Format

All four players play as individuals rather than in partnerships. Each player takes a side of the board and competes only for the pieces on their half, scoring individually. The queen is still contested by all. This format works well when four players of mixed ability play together, as stronger players cannot carry weaker partners.

No-Queen Rules

The queen is removed from play entirely, or it is placed aside and ignored once pocketed, with no cover requirement and no bonus points. This simplifies the game considerably and is well suited to younger children or first-time players who find the queen cover rule confusing. Board scores are simply the number of the loser's remaining pieces.

Sudden Death

Each player receives only three carrom men of their colour plus the queen. The board is a quick, tactical affair that plays in under ten minutes. The queen rule remains in force. This variation is popular as a tiebreaker in competitive club evenings or when time is short.

Carrom: frequently asked questions