Quick Answer
- What it is: carrom is a tabletop game from India for 2 or 4 players. You flick a heavy disc, the striker, to knock your own coins into the four corner pockets.
- The pieces: 9 white coins, 9 black coins, 1 red queen and a striker.
- Winning a board: the first side to pocket all nine of its coins wins the board, but only once the queen has been pocketed and covered.
- Scoring: the board winner gets 1 point per opponent coin left, plus 3 for the queen if they covered it and their score is still 21 or less.
- Winning the game: first to 25 points, or the leader after 8 boards.
Carrom is a flicking game played on a square wooden board with a pocket in each corner. Each player, or each team of two, owns one colour, white or black, and uses the striker to pocket those nine coins before the other side does.
The red queen belongs to nobody at the start. Whoever pockets it must "cover" it at once by pocketing one of their own coins. One round, from the break to the last coin, is called a board. A game is a series of boards played to 25 points or 8 boards.
This guide follows the federation Laws of Carrom used in organised play and labels where home games and apps differ. It ends with a full board scored step by step. Carrom is not a Come Game title; this is a general rules guide.
What Is Carrom? The Board, Pieces and Goal
Carrom is a game of Indian origin, a bit like billiards played with a finger instead of a cue. You need a board, 19 coins and a striker.
| Item | Official size or count | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Playing surface | 73.5–74 cm square (about 29 inches) | Smooth plywood inside a raised wooden frame |
| Pockets | 4, each 4.45 cm across | One in each corner, with a net underneath |
| Baselines | 2 parallel lines per side, 47 cm long | You place the striker here for every stroke |
| Base circles | 2 per side, at the ends of the baselines | Special placement rule (see below) |
| Arrows | 4 diagonal lines pointing at the pockets | The striker must not touch them; your elbow must not cross them |
| Centre and outer circles | 3.18 cm and 17 cm across | The queen starts in the centre; returned coins go inside the outer circle |
| Coins (carrom men) | 9 white, 9 black, 1 red queen; 3.02–3.18 cm | You pocket only your own colour, plus the queen |
| Striker | Up to 4.13 cm and 15 g | The only piece you flick |
Sizes are from the Laws of Carrom. Home boards are often smaller, but the markings are the same.
Setting Up: Arrangement, Seating, Toss and Colours
Put the queen in the centre circle, ring it with six coins in alternating colours, then add twelve more around them, all touching and inside the outer circle. Under the Laws, the whites of the two rows line up to form a "Y".
- Singles or doubles. In singles, the two players sit opposite each other. In doubles, partners sit opposite each other and share a colour, and the turn passes to the player on the right (anticlockwise). Partners may not signal each other.
- The toss. The toss winner chooses either to break first or to pick their side of the board.
- Colours. Whoever breaks plays white for that board. The other side plays black.
- The break. It counts once the striker touches any coin. The breaker gets three tries in all; if all miss, the turn passes to the opponent and colours stay the same.
- Next boards. The break, and so white, alternates each board.
Some home games let players pick colours or pocket any colour (see variations). Under the Laws the breaker always has white.
How to Strike: Striker Placement and the Flick
Every stroke is played from your own baselines: the striker must touch both lines, and if you use a base circle, the striker must cover that circle completely.
- Base circle: all or nothing. Cover the red circle completely or keep off it, and never touch the arrow line.
- Flick, never push. The Laws say the striker "shall be struck and not pushed".
- Stay seated. Only your hand may reach past the line of the arrows; your elbow stays off the playing surface.
- Keep your turn by pocketing. Pocket your own coin, or the queen legally, and you strike again.
- Coins off the board. A coin that jumps off goes back in the centre circle.
The Laws text we checked says strokes are made "with the finger", while Wikipedia states that the ICF allows thumbing. Home games generally allow it; in a tournament, ask the umpire.
The Queen: When You Can Pocket It and How to Cover It
You may pocket the queen only after you have pocketed at least one of your own coins, and you must then cover it by pocketing one of your coins in the same stroke or the very next stroke.
- Too early. Queen before any of your coins: it returns to the centre and you lose your turn.
- Queen with your coin: covered at once. Queen alone: you strike again; pocket your coin to cover, or the queen returns to the centre and your turn ends.
- You cannot finish with the queen on the board. Pocket your last coin with the queen still there and you lose the board by 3 points (1 if your opponent has 22 or more).
- Queen points go to the board winner only. If the loser covered the queen, nobody gets its 3 points.
Fouls, Dues and Penalties
A due is one of your pocketed coins that comes back out as payment when your striker goes into a pocket; a foul costs a penalty coin in the same way. Your opponent places it inside the outer circle. If you have none yet, it is owed.
| What happened | Consequence under the Laws |
|---|---|
| Striker pocketed on its own | 1 due. Your turn ends. |
| Striker pocketed with your own coin(s) | Those coins come back out, plus 1 due. You continue your turn. |
| Striker pocketed with an opponent's coin | Their coin counts for them, you pay 1 due, and your turn ends. |
| Opponent's coin pocketed by a legal stroke | It counts for them and your turn ends. No due. |
| Touching or moving a coin by hand | Foul: the coin is put back, 1 penalty coin comes out, your turn ends. |
| Other fouls during your turn (pushing, elbow past the arrow line) | 1 penalty coin, turn ends. Getting up from your seat mid-board can cost you the whole board. |
| Your last coin pocketed with the queen still on the board | You lose the board by 3 points (1 if the opponent has 22 or more). |
| Opponent's last coin pocketed with the queen still on the board | You lose the board by the number of your own coins left, plus the queen's value. |
Summarised from the federation Laws of Carrom.
Many home games skip dues or end the turn whenever the striker goes in. Agree the rules before the first board.
How a Board Is Scored
Only the board winner scores: 1 point for each opponent coin still on the board, plus 3 points for the queen if the winner covered it and their score is 21 or less. The loser scores nothing for that board, even if they covered the queen.
- The queen threshold. The Laws say the queen is worth 3 points "up to and including 21 points". Once your score reaches 22, a covered queen adds nothing.
- Maximum per board. 12 points: all 9 opponent coins left plus the queen.
- End of the game. A game is 25 points or 8 boards. The first to 25 wins; otherwise the leader after the 8th board wins. If scores are level after 8 boards, one extra board decides it.
How to Play a Board, Step by Step
A board runs from the break until one side pockets its last coin. Here is the sequence for a singles game, with each restriction beside the step it affects.
Prepare
Level the board, dust it lightly with powder and arrange the coins. Agree whether you are playing federation or house rules.
Toss and break
The breaker plays white and gets up to three tries to touch the pack, with the striker touching both baselines.
Take turns
Pocket your own coin and strike again; otherwise the turn passes. Flick, don't push, stay seated and keep your elbow behind the arrow line. Pocketing an opponent's coin ends your turn.
Queen and cover
Only after your first coin. Cover on the same or next stroke, or the queen returns to the centre.
Pay dues as they happen
Striker pocketed or a foul: your opponent places one of your pocketed coins inside the outer circle, or it is owed.
Finish
Pocket your last coin only once the queen is covered, by either side.
Check the result
Count the loser's coins left, add the queen if it applies, update the score and check for 25 points or 8 boards. The break passes to the other side.
Worked Example: Scoring a Full Board (and Two Wrong Calls)
In this singles game Priya wins Board 5 with five of Rahul's coins left and the queen covered, so she scores 5 + 3 = 8 points.
The situation. Priya broke boards 1, 3 and 5, so she has white. Before Board 5, Priya has 14 points and Rahul has 5. Priya pockets the queen and covers it on her next stroke. Rahul pockets five blacks, but once pockets his striker on its own and pays one due. Priya then pockets her ninth white.
| Step | Working | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Rahul's coins still on the board | 9 − 5 pocketed + 1 due returned | 5 |
| Points for those coins | 5 × 1 | 5 |
| Queen bonus | Covered by Priya, her score 14 is ≤ 21 | +3 |
| Board 5 total | 5 + 3 | 8 |
| New score | Priya 14 + 8; Rahul stays on 5 | 22 – 5 |
Why this is correct. Only the winner scores, so Rahul's pocketed coins are worth nothing to him, and the due he paid became a point for Priya. The queen counts because Priya covered it while below 22.
Board 6. Rahul breaks and has white. Priya wins again with two of his coins left and the queen covered, but at 22 the queen adds nothing: 2 × 1 = 2, taking her to 24. Nobody has 25 after six boards, so play goes on.
Earlier in Board 5, Rahul pocketed the queen, missed with his next stroke and claimed he could cover it on his following turn. Correct ruling: the cover must come on the same stroke or the very next one, so the queen goes back to the centre circle and Priya plays. Fix: only take the queen when an easy cover coin is waiting.
Under the Laws, that coin plus one due come out, but you keep your turn. It ends only if the striker goes in alone or with an opponent's coin. Many home games end the turn in every case, so agree first.
Common Mistakes and Rule Variations
Beginner mistakes usually involve striker placement, the queen or finishing order, and most arguments come from house rules.
Common mistakes
- Striker on one baseline only, or half on a base circle: both are fouls.
- Queen before your first coin, or leaving the cover for later.
- Pocketing your last coin with the queen still on the board: that loses the board.
- Counting your own pocketed coins as points. The winner scores the opponent's coins left.
Indian home rules (not federation rules)
- Point or family-point carrom. Anyone may pocket any colour. Wikipedia gives a typical family-point scale of white 20, black 10, queen 50, but marks that section as unsourced. Other homes score 1 per coin and 3 for the queen.
- Looser house rules. Many families skip dues, play a fixed number of boards, or allow the queen at any time.
Federation formats in India
- The Indian Carrom Federation's newer rules keep 8 boards or 25 points for seniors, with 10 seconds per stroke. Other age groups play 6 boards or 21 points, with the queen counting at any score.
Online carrom apps
- Miniclip's Carrom Pool has three modes: Carrom, Disc Pool and Freestyle. The Carrom mode is the one closest to the board game.
- Zupee's Carrom Ninja uses 19 coins numbered 1 to 19, each worth its number, with 8 timed turns per player.
- Apps add aim guides and shot timers. Rules vary by app and mode, so check the in-game rules screen.
Tips for Your First Games
Learn three basic shots, hit softer than you think, and plan your cover before taking the queen.
- Straight shot: striker, coin and pocket in one line. Master this first.
- Cut shot: clip the side of a coin to angle it into a pocket.
- Rebound shot: play off the frame when the direct line is blocked.
Checklist and Next Steps
Run through this list before your first board.
- Queen in the centre, 6 + 12 coins around it; the breaker plays white.
- Striker touches both baselines, and covers a base circle fully or not at all.
- Flick, don't push; stay seated.
- Queen only after your first coin; cover it on the same or next stroke.
- Striker pocketed: 1 due; your turn continues only if your own coin went in with it.
- Board score: opponent's coins left, plus 3 for your covered queen while you have 21 or less. Game: 25 points or 8 boards.
Next, read our Ludo rules guide or Call Break rules guide. For card games that are on Come Game, see 13-card Indian Rummy, Teen Patti or the full games list.
🃏 Carrom isn't on Come Game, but Rummy and Teen Patti are
New members get a ₹10,000 welcome bonus on their first UPI deposit, subject to terms, and withdrawals go to UPI.
18+ only. Carrom at home involves no money, but some apps run paid contests. Real-money gaming is for adults 18 and over and is restricted in Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Odisha, Telangana, Nagaland and Sikkim; see our responsible gaming page.
Sources
- Indian Carrom Federation: Laws of Carrom (equipment sizes, placement, queen, dues, scoring, game length)
- carrom.co.uk: Laws of Carrom (full numbered Laws text, including arrangement, fouls and last-coin rules)
- carrom.co.uk: Carrom Rules (plain-English summary; queen threshold; striker placement)
- Indian Carrom Federation: How to Play Carrom (set-up, colours, board scoring)
- Indian Carrom Federation: New Version Rules (8 boards/25 points and 6 boards/21 points formats)
- Wikipedia: Carrom (thumbing, home variants such as family-point)
- Miniclip: Carrom Pool (the three app modes)
- Zupee: Carrom Game Rules (Carrom Ninja app format)
