How to Play Petanque

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

Petanque is a throwing and targeting game played with heavy metal boules and a small wooden target ball. Two to six players compete in singles, doubles, or triples format, taking turns to lob or roll their boules as close as possible to the jack. The rules are simple enough to explain in two minutes, but reading the ground, judging weight, and deciding when to knock an opponent's boule away keeps experienced players thinking every round.

It is most often played outdoors on compacted gravel, bare earth, or any reasonably level open surface, which makes it a natural fixture in parks, gardens, and campsites. Its appeal comes from the combination of relaxed pace and genuine tactical depth: you can play a perfectly decent social game and still find yourself locked in close competition over a single boule at the end of a round.

A little history

Petanque as a codified game is documented from the early twentieth century in the south of France, with the rules widely associated with La Ciotat around 1910. The name is traditionally said to derive from the Provencal expression for feet together, referring to the standing throwing position that distinguishes it from older running boules games. Boules games themselves have been played across southern Europe for centuries, but the precise chain of development leading to modern Petanque is not fully established in the historical record.

Setting up

1. Agree on teams: singles (one player each, three boules each), doubles (two per side, three boules each), or triples (three per side, two boules each).
2. Find or mark a playing area of open ground at least 10 metres long. Hard-packed gravel or bare earth is ideal; long grass makes finding the jack difficult.
3. Toss a coin to decide which team goes first in the opening round.
4. The starting team draws or places a circle on the ground, roughly 35 to 50 cm in diameter. All throws this round must be made from inside this circle with both feet on the ground.
5. A player from the starting team throws the jack forward between 6 and 10 metres from the circle. The jack must land in the open playing area, not against a boundary or obstruction. If it does not, the other team has one attempt to place it correctly; if that also fails, the starting team throws again.
6. Once the jack is in a valid position, play begins.

How to play

1. The team that threw the jack throws first. One player steps into the circle, holds the boule palm-down, and throws it toward the jack. Both feet must remain inside the circle and on the ground until the boule has landed.
2. The team whose boule is NOT closest to the jack must now throw. They continue throwing, one boule at a time, until either they take the lead (have a boule nearer the jack than any opponent boule) or they run out of boules.
3. When one team takes the lead, the other team must throw. This continues, alternating as the lead changes, until all boules from both sides have been thrown.
4. If a team runs out of boules while the other still has some, the remaining team throws all their remaining boules one by one.
5. After all boules have been thrown, the round (called a mene) is over. Measure to determine which team's boule is nearest the jack.
6. The winning team scores one point for every boule that is closer to the jack than the nearest boule of the losing team. Only one team scores per round.
7. To measure distances, use a tape measure or a dedicated measuring tool. When it is genuinely too close to call by eye, measure carefully from the jack to each boule in question.
8. A boule touching the jack is called a carreau. It still scores normally based on distance unless it has knocked the jack to a new position.
9. The team that scored in the previous round draws a new circle around where the jack ended up and throws the jack again to start the next round.
10. If a thrown boule moves the jack outside the boundary of the agreed playing area, the round is void and replayed. If the jack is moved but stays in bounds, play continues from the new position.
11. A boule that lands out of bounds is removed from play for that round. A boule that hits a boundary obstacle and bounces back into play is also dead and removed.
12. Continue playing rounds until one team reaches 13 points. That team wins the game.

Winning and scoring

The first team to reach 13 points wins the game. Points are scored at the end of each round: the team with the closest boule to the jack scores one point for every one of their boules that is closer to the jack than the nearest boule belonging to the opposing team. A team can score between one and six points in a single round depending on player format. Only the winning team of each round scores; the losing team scores nothing for that round regardless of how many boules they have near the jack.

The fine points

The most common dispute is over measuring. Always measure from the jack to the boule, not the other way around. When two boules appear equidistant, measure both carefully and independently. If they are genuinely equal, neither team scores for those boules and you continue counting the next nearest boule. If all closest boules are equal, no points are scored and the round is replayed. A boule that is touching the jack counts as a live boule and scores normally unless it has carried the jack into a dead zone.

The jack is considered dead and the round void if it is knocked out of the agreed boundary, knocked into an area that cannot be measured (such as into heavy undergrowth or under a fixed obstruction), or if it is completely buried. If there is genuine doubt about whether a boule or the jack is in or out of bounds, the benefit of the doubt goes to the boule or jack remaining in play. Boules must not be moved to aid measuring; mark their positions with a small coin or peg first if necessary, and replace them exactly. Lifting a boule without marking it forfeits any dispute advantage for that team.

How to win more often

• Point first, shoot when you must. Roll or lob your boule close to the jack before resorting to knocking opponents away. A well-placed boule forces the other team to react rather than score.
• Observe the ground before you throw. Watch where earlier boules have landed to identify slopes, hollows, and firm patches. Use the terrain rather than fight it.
• Vary your trajectory. A high lob lands with little roll and is precise in cluttered conditions. A low roller is faster and useful on firm, clear ground. Practise both and choose deliberately.
• When your team is already winning the round and the other team is out of boules, do not throw your remaining boules unless you have a reason to. Hold them: there is nothing to gain and a mishap could knock your own leading boule aside.
• On your last boule of a round, consider shooting to remove the opponent's best-placed boule rather than trying to point, especially if you are trailing. Removing one strong boule can turn a round from a loss into a draw or a single-point win.

Variations

Singles (Tete-a-Tete)

Two players compete head to head, each using three boules. All standard rules apply. This is the fastest format and well suited to quick games or deciding ties. Every boule matters and there is no teammate to cover a poor throw, so the margin for error is smaller than in team formats.

Doubles

Two players per team, each throwing three boules, giving each side six boules per round. Partners can coordinate strategy between throws, deciding when to point and when to shoot. This is the most common recreational format and works well in gardens and campsites with a small group.

Triples

Three players per team, each throwing two boules, again giving six boules per side per round. This is the standard competitive and club format. With three players, teams can assign informal roles: one player focuses on pointing, one on shooting, and one adapts to what the round requires.

Milieu (shortened game)

For a quicker session or when playing with younger children, set the winning score at 7 or 9 points instead of 13. All other rules remain identical. This cuts playing time substantially without changing the character of the game and is a practical option for mixed-age groups where concentration may shorten before a full game concludes.

Petanque: frequently asked questions