What is pétanque?
Pétanque is a boules game in which two sides throw hollow metal balls, boules, as close as they can to a small target ball, the jack (in French, the cochonnet, “piglet”). It is governed internationally by the Fédération Internationale de Pétanque et Jeu Provençal (FIPJP), founded in Marseille on March 8, 1958, which says there are “nearly 800,000 licensed players and many more people who simply play for pleasure.” Its official rules begin simply: “Pétanque is played on any surface.”
Equipment
| Boules | Metal and hollow, 70.5 to 80 mm across, 650 to 800 g. Children 11 and under may use 600 g, 65 mm boules |
|---|---|
| Jack | Wood or approved synthetic, 30 mm (±1 mm), 10 to 18 g, not magnetic |
| Circle | Drawn 35 to 50 cm across, or a rigid 50 cm ring |
| Terrain | Any surface. For national and international events, a marked area at least 15 × 4 m |
How to play
- Toss a coin. The winner chooses the terrain and throws the jack.
- Draw the circle and throw the jack 6 to 10 m away, measured from the inside of the circle.
- Keep your feet planted. “The players’ feet must be entirely on the inside of the circle” and on the ground until the boule lands.
- The side that is not closest plays next. After the first boule, “it is the team that does not hold the point that plays,” and it keeps throwing until it gets closest or runs out of boules.
- Score the end. When all boules are played, the winning side scores one point for each boule closer to the jack than the opponent’s best.
- Start the next end from a new circle drawn where the jack finished.
Games are played to 13 points (leagues and qualifying heats may play to 11), and each player has one minute to throw.
Singles, doubles and triples
The FIPJP allows three formats and “No other formula”: singles (tête-à-tête) and doubles (doublette) with 3 boules per player, and triples (triplette) with 2 boules per player.
Pointing and shooting
There are two kinds of throw. Pointing (pointer) means placing your boule close to the jack. Shooting (tirer) means knocking an opponent’s boule out of the way. Teams usually have a pointeur, a tireur (shooter), and in triples a milieu who can do both. The dream shot is the carreau, which knocks the opposing boule away and leaves yours in its place.
Pétanque terms
| Cochonnet / but / jack | The small target ball; cochonnet literally means piglet |
|---|---|
| Rond | The throwing circle |
| Mène | An end |
| Carreau | A shot that replaces the boule it hits |
| Biberon | A boule touching the jack (literally “baby bottle”) |
| Plombée | A very high lob that lands near the jack and barely rolls |
| Roulette | A boule rolled along the ground nearly all the way |
| Donnée | The spot where you aim your boule to land |
| Fanny | Winning 13-0 |
| Boulodrome | An indoor pétanque venue |
Bocce vs pétanque
| Bocce | Pétanque | |
| Balls | Resin, about 107 mm, 900 to 920 g | Hollow metal, 70.5 to 80 mm, 650 to 800 g |
| Target | Pallino, 39 to 41 mm | Jack, 30 mm |
| Where | A boarded court (26.5 m internationally) | Any surface |
| Delivery | From behind a foul line, usually rolled | Feet planted in a circle, usually thrown |
| Game to | 12 (international) | 13 |
Both games score one point for each ball closer than the opponent’s best, and in both the side that isn’t closest plays next. See our bocce guide.
A short history
Pétanque grew out of jeu provençal, an older game with a longer pitch in which players ran three steps before throwing. The usual story, told by Petanque Australia, is that the game was invented in La Ciotat, in Provence, in 1907 by café owner Ernest Pitiot for a friend, Jules Lenoir, whose rheumatism kept him from running; the first tournament under the new rules followed in 1910. (Some sources give 1910 as the origin.) The name comes from Provençal words about keeping your feet planted (pieds tanqués).
How to start
You need a set of boules, a jack and a patch of gravel or packed dirt. In France, the national federation counted 302,000 licensed players by April 30, 2025. In the US, the Federation of Pétanque USA, “the official governing body for pétanque in the United States,” lists regions and clubs, and its players are “happy to share tips, lend a set of boules, and make introductions.”
Gear to play at home
Pétanque boules. Metal boules of 70.5 to 80 mm and 650 to 800 g, plus a jack. See our buying guide for the bowling family for what the rules require and which set suits you.
Sources: FIPJP Official Rules for the Sport of Petanque (December 2020), history and who we are; FPUSA pétanque terminology and homepage; Petanque Australia; Sportmag (2025); CBI international raffa rules (2026) for the bocce column; Wikipedia (carreau).