I know, not exactly British and ever so French. Anyway, it seems to have gotten very popular all over the world - Thailand were/are world champions. It is played in the UK as well, but probably not everywhere. As it turns out it is played over here as well, there is a lunchtime league played in town in the lunch hour - between 12 and 2 pm, played by local businesses and offices who go down to the terrain at their allotted time to play their game. The boules are used by everybody, just help yourself to a set. Me and a mate have joined this and we are doing spectacularly badly we crashed to the bottom of one division and crashed straight through the division below it as well where we currently sit with barely a few points to our names - time to get serious ! time to do something about this, so purchased a cheap set of boules for Simon and treated myself to a set of carbon steel championship cannon balls !! We are going to have this !
Never even heard of it despite my being a sports enthusiast since childhood. On looking, it appears to be a derivative of the Italian 'bocce' which I used to see the local 'dagos' eek: ) playing near my school. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bocce Like all sports, will require practice and dedication. Hope you enjoy your new balls, Mattie.
I think that's why there are those lines on his balls. Nice firm grip on the balls is always a good thing, just not too tight..that's never good. Better to cup the balls, I've been told. @Lozzy I am sure we all would like to hear your take on gripping versus cupping the balls.
I would normally say cupping....however, as petanque is French.....I would go for a firm grip...given their tendency to want to roll backwards
They play this in the US as well I think. The balls have three basic characteristics within the limits set out in the rules: 1. size - diameter - according to how big your hands are or personal preference 2. weight - a bit lighter, a bit heavier 3. material - they have to be metal but there are some varying kinds of steel - bronze - this affects bounce/reaction to impacts It is good fun, can be outside or inside, male/female joint teams. This is just a heads up really, in case you see it advertised and think it is some kind of lawn bowls for the over 60s - it is not. There maybe something going on in your area. You can get a set of boules from Decathalon and then all set ! A bit of strategy - good fun. Me and work mate Simon thought this was going to be a doddle - like we would be champions in no time flat - how difficult can it be right ? Recommended - strangely addictive
Much in the same vein (heh heh heh) we play a game here called "Cornhole". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornhole Now, picture this, we have a cornhole league in the Motorcycle Club community. Picture a bunch of gruff looking bikers sitting around tossing bean bags into a board with a hole in it. Great fun!
