Game Rules

Choosing the Teams

There are many ways to choose the teams.

In a Match the Home team captain declares the teams for each piste and the Away team Captain choses the team members to line up against them.

Club Matches can use the "Numbers". This is a set of sheets that specify the team members according to the number of players that have turned up. Team Members can be given a number on the basis of when they arrived, or draw numbers to make the process more random

Club matches could chose players by having a mass "Throw in". One boule from every player is pointed onto a distant coche. Teams and Pistes are allocated According to who is the closest in turn.

Starting the Game

A new game starts with a toss of a coin with the winner taking the first throw of the coche and boule. In club play the winner becomes the "Home" team.

On subsequent ends and games, the winning team from the previous end throws the cache and first boule.

If the coche throw is invalid (within 50cm of the edges or not between 6 and 10 Meters) then the opposition team may place the coche in any valid position they chose.

The team that threw the invalid coche will still throw the initial boule.

The opposition team then throw their opening boule shot.

Order of Play

For the mid point of the main game the teams will have to agree who has the boule closest to the coche. Use a measuring device if required. This team is declared as being ON.

The team that is not ON must play as many boules as required to become on or run out of boules (called "All out").

Play continues as the ON team switched back and forth until one team is All Out. The other team then plays out their remaining boules (but may decide to not throw some boules).

Neither team is ON

During the game it may become the case that the two best boules from each team are found to be equidistant from the coche. This is a no-score situation, in which case the two teams continue to take turns until either the draw is brocken. If a team is out the final boules are played out. If any of those final boules are closer then the equal pair then they all score. If the equal pair of boulkes are still the two closest boules to the coche then no point are awarded and the next end is played. The team that started this end will start the next end (as in a dead ball situation).

Scoring each end

Points are awarded to how many Boules a team has closest to the coche. This can be from 1 to as many boules are in play (typically 3 for singles, 6 for doubles/triples).

Dead Ends

The Coche can be moved about within the course of the game. It could be moved beyond 10M is the piste is long enough. It could be bounced back up towards the coche as long as it does not get to within 3M of the circle. The game continues on in all these cases. If the coche is knocked outside of the piste (over the wire / bounces of the wood) then the end is declared a Dead End.

The scoring of a dead end depends on what boules are still yet to be played. If both team has remaining boules then no point are scored and the end is replayed with the same team starting the end as in the previous end

If one team onlky has Boules left to throw then they score one point for every boule not yet thrown.

Winning the Game

The objective of every game is to reach 13 points. In some cases a timed game is played against a timer. When the timer expires a game that is underway declares Last End and plays on till the end of that end only

If the timer expires during the turn round period between ends then a further end is not played.

If a draw is not acceptable for the competition outcome then single ends are played until the draw is broken.