How Pétanque Works

The equipment list is the shortest in sport: boules (hollow steel balls, about 700–800 grams each), a cochonnet (a small wooden jack, 30mm), and a piece of ground. Draw a circle 35–50cm across. That is the entire stadium.

One player throws the cochonnet six to ten metres away. Then the game divides into two verbs. To pointer is to throw your boule so it lands as close to the jack as possible — a soft, arcing, careful thing. To tirer is to shoot: to knock an opponent’s boule out of position. The team furthest from the jack always throws next, which means the lead changes hands constantly and nobody coasts.

Only one team scores per mène (round): count how many of your boules sit closer than the opponent’s nearest one. First team to 13 points wins. Games are played as singles (three boules each), doubles (three each), or triples (two each).

Then there is the sport’s most civilized rule and its least civilized tradition. The civilized rule: you may never leave the circle until your boule lands. The tradition: lose 13–0 and you have fait fanny — and in boulodromes across France, the losing team must kiss a painted backside, usually to applause. Humiliation with wine. Six rules, infinite depth, and one painted bottom. That is pétanque.