Carrom Board

A carrom-man (also carrom man, carromman, carroman; plural men ; sometimes abbreviated c/m; and known by colloquial terms such as seed, coin, puck, or ti) is a usually wooden (sometimes plastic), uniform small disk used in playing carrom. The 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.

The carrom-men come in two colors denoting the two players (or,in doubles play, teams). Traditionally, these colors are white (or unstained) and black. The breaker always plays white. An additional, special carrom-man is colored red and called the queen"

ICF-sanctioned pieces must have a diameter of no more than 3.18 cm and no less than 3.02 cm, and must be between 7 mm and 9 mm thick, with an edge that is round and plain, and a weight of 5-5.5 g.

The red (or sometimes pink) queen or match -taker coin/seed, is the most powerful carrom piece. It is placed at the center of the circle. Under ICF rules, if a player wins the board with the queen, this adds three 3 queen points to the player's total score. A player has the right to pocket the queen and to cover it provided a carrom man of the player's own has already been pocketed.

Under ICF rules, the dimensions of the queen must be the same as those of the other carrom-men.

The striker is a larger, heavier piece, flicked with the finger to hit the carrom-men and knock them into the corner pockets or into each other. According to the laws by ICF, the striker shall be smooth and round, with a diameter not more than 4.13 cm. Its weight should not be more than 15 grams. Ivory and metal strikers are not allowed in tournaments.

High quality powder is used on the board to enable the pieces to slide easily. Boric acid powder is the most commonly used for this purpose.

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 micrometers in diameter. The powder is made from pure, food-grade vegetable starch.

International rules (sometimes hyperbolic ally called the laws of carrom) are promulgated by the India-based international carrom federation, the governing body of carrom. The organisation also ranks players, sanctions tournaments and presents awards, and has many national affiliates such as the all-India carron federation, Australian carrom federation, UK carrom association and us carrom association. There is a penalty a person has to pay if his striker goes in the hole. This term is referred to as deuce. The penalty is usually 10.

Order  of play is determined by the process of calling the carrom-men or, simply, the toss". Before the commencement of each match, in formal play, an umpire hides one black and one white carrom-men in his hands and the players have to guess which carrommen  in his hands and the players have to guess which carrommen are being held in each hand. The player who wins 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 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.

In a doubles event, the team winning the toss has the choice, as above. Once the toss-losers have sat down, they may not interchange. This order of sitting continues throughout the match. whoever plays first or breaks gets white.

The aim of the game is to pot one's own nine carrom men before one's opponent pots his/hers. However, before sinking one's final carrom man, the queen must be pocketed and then covered by pocketing one of one's own carrom men on the same or subsequent strike. Fouls, such as crossing the diagonal lines on the board with any part of one's body, or potting the striker, lead to carrom men being returned to the board . The players is allowed to shoot with any finger, including the thumbed (know as thumbing or a thumb shot). The players can shoot c/m on his/her base line while playing back shot (thumbing). At any point of time the player should not strike any of the coins on the diagonal line closer to the player.

A variant often popular with children or an odd number of players. play is as above except that all players try to sink all carrom men, regardless of color. The nine carrom men of the other color are worth one point each and the nine carrom men of the other color are worth tow points each. The red queen is worth five points and may only be captured by pocketing another carrom man on the same or subsequent strike. A player reaching 17 or more points is the winner, otherwise the winner is the player with the most points after all carrom men have been pocketed.