Carrom Tips for Beginners
Carrom has long been a favorite tabletop game in Asian countries like India, Sri Lanka, Japan, and South Korea, to name a few. Because of how easy it is to play for families and groups of friends, it’s no longer surprising that the game made its way to other parts of the globe, including the Middle East, North America, the United Kingdom, Europe, and Australia.
From there, it then became a famous game in contests and tournaments, even at an international level. In recent years, online carrom emerged and became a means of entertainment during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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If you’re new to carrom and want to get better at the game, here are some tips to consider.
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What is Carrom?
Carrom is like billiards in how the play goes, but it differs in terms of the equipment. Instead of a pool table and a set of balls, a plywood board and 19 small disks called “carrom men” (also called seeds, coins, pawns, and pucks) are used. There are nine white or unstained disks, nine black disks, and one red disk also called the “queen.” A cue stick is also unnecessary since you will use a larger disk called a “striker” instead.
In a face-to-face game, fine-grained powder is required. It is sprinkled on the board to create a smooth surface that will enable the pucks and the striker to slide easier. However, it’s not just any powder. The most generally used one is Boric acid-based powder.
Your main goal as a player is to pocket all your disks with a striker before your opponent does. Your carrom men can be the white or black ones. It would benefit you if you could pocket the red disk before your rival does. The Queen holds the highest points among the carrom men and can turn a game around.
There’s no fixed number of rounds in carrom. Participants simply have to continue playing until one hits 29 points or higher. The total score is the sum of the points obtained from each round.
How to Play
One player gets the white carrom men, while the other player plays black. The one who plays white will do the first strike or the “opening break.”
The opening break is simply breaking the circle in the middle of the board. The circle consists of the 19 carrom men with the red piece put in the middle, six disks encircling the Queen, and the other 12 disks placed around the first six. The pucks need to be in alternate white-and-black order.
The player who strikes first will have a consecutive chance to take a shot if they manage to pocket a disk during the opening break. Otherwise, the second player will take a turn.
Players will take turns to pocket the carrom men in the color that is assigned to them. A turn contains one or more strikes, and for every try, one must shoot the striker from within the baseline (the thin rectangle at the base) or one of the two circles at either end of the rectangle.
Each round ends after a player has all his or her carrom men in the pocket. However, the game is not yet over when the Queen remains on the board. The Queen needs to be pocketed and “covered” before the last disk of the winning player.
A player will then be declared the winner once they accumulate 29 points or higher.
Who Goes First?
In a physical game, determining which player goes first can be done in various ways. International-level carrom competitions usually have an umpire hide one white carrom man in one hand and one black carrom man in the other. The players will guess the color of the coin in each hand. The one with the right guess will play white pucks and strike first. However, they have the choice to decline the opening break and choose to play black pieces.
In casual carrom, choosing which player would go first is done by tossing a coin. Another way is letting one player hide a disk in one hand and have the opponent guess which hand has the coin. You can also follow the rules of other board games, such as letting the older or taller player make the first move.
What’s the Scoring?
At the end of each round of carrom, the winning player obtains one point for each opponent’s coins left on the board. If the winner also covered the Queen, five points are added to the score. The maximum score for every round is 14 points.
But there’s an exception in getting bonus points for pocketing the Queen — if a player with the red disk has 24 points or higher at the end of a match.
Tips and Tricks to Keep in Mind
1. Practice holding and hitting the striker
The striker is the larger and heavier disk you will use to hit the carrom men into the pockets. Since you are a newbie, it is a good idea to practice holding and hitting the striker before the game starts. There are two main grips that you can use: the scissors grip and the straight grip.
The International Carrom Federation has also allowed thumbing, which is the utilization of any finger, including the thumb, to take a strike. But remember to flick the striker and not push it. Pushing the striker is considered a foul.
2. Familiarize yourself with the board
Getting yourself familiarized with the board is essential to know how to play. Check the lines and symbols and know what they mean. You also should look at where your carrom men need to be pocketed and where your striker has to be positioned when taking a shot. It is also crucial to take note of the concentric circles and foul lines.
3. Learn the fouls and avoid them
There are situations in the carrom that are considered fouls. It would be best to avoid committing a foul during the game to prevent having a penalty. The penalty is the opponent returning one of your pocketed pieces to the board. If there's no pocketed carrom man to be put back when a foul is called, the penalty is "owed" until you pocket a coin.
Getting your striker or the opponent’s piece pocketed and touching any disk in play are a few situations that are deemed foul.
4. Use accurate speed and force
Force and speed are what you need to move the coins across the board. With the right level of speed and force, the pieces will slide into the pocket. But if these two are inaccurate, the carrom men will unlikely get into the targeted net hole, even if it’s an easy shot. In addition, if you use more force than required, the disks may only rebound off the board edges and not go toward the pocket.
5. Flick the striker in the right direction
The right direction of flicking the striker is also vital to ensure that a coin gets pocketed. Your shot will only go to waste if you won’t aim your striker in the right direction, even with accurate speed and force. Be sure to check the position of the target carrom man and the disk blocking it to give the right direction and speed to the striker.
6. Know how to cover the queen
Holding the highest number of points, the Queen is the most valuable carrom man, so always keep an eye on this piece and try to pocket and cover it before your rival does. If you’re going after the red disk, ascertain if you have an absolute chance to pocket a coin on your next attempt. Also, make sure you have another piece to pocket right after the Queen. Otherwise, the Queen is put back on the board.
If the red piece and one of your carrom men are pocketed together in the same shot, the Queen shall be considered covered.
7. Be patient
Patience is a crucial factor in playing most games, including carrom. Playing this tabletop game may take a very long time since you and the other player may have trouble pocketing carrom men. Also, impatience may lead you to make wrong decisions and moves, which you probably want to avoid.
8. Remain calm
Throughout the game, you must stay composed even if you commit a foul or miss hitting a carrom man. You should keep your mind relaxed all the time and prevent overthinking. If you let your wrong strike or fouls affect you negatively, you will most likely feel frustrated and lose concentration, which will then lead to continuous mistakes.
9. Keep practicing
No one becomes great at something in one go, so that’s why practice is necessary. Carrom may seem easy, but there are rules and fouls you need to keep in mind. After you get the hang of it, the game will be faster and more exciting. And the more you play, the more you learn tricks and strategies to win. The next thing you know, you’re already an expert.
Commonly played either by two or four people, carrom is one of the fun ways to hang out with your family or friends indoors. With changing times, the game has become available on different digital platforms. What this means for you is that you now get to play with random strangers around the globe. The game becomes more challenging because you have no idea of the skill level of the person you’re playing.
If you would like to join in the fun, these tips for beginners will help you get on the right track. Also, take your time understanding the rules and situations regarded as fouls. Before you know it, you’re already playing like a pro.
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