Quick answer
How to play
- Arrange the coins in the centre circle and place the striker on your baseline.
- Flick the striker with one finger, aiming to contact a coin and send it to a pocket.
- A successful legal pocket normally keeps your turn. A missed or foul shot passes play on.
Carrom fouls and queen rules
At the start, arrange the coins in the centre circle and place the striker on a baseline. A legal turn starts with the striker positioned inside the baseline marks and flicked with one finger.
Coins and turns
Players aim to pocket assigned coins. A legal pocket generally continues the turn; a miss passes the striker to the next player. If the striker enters a pocket, it is a foul and groups commonly return one coin to the board.
The queen
The red queen needs a cover rule: after pocketing it, the player must pocket an assigned coin on the same or a following permitted turn. Confirm when the queen is returned if it is not covered.
Rules and scoring
Players or teams take assigned coin colours. The red queen has special cover rules that groups should agree before the game. A striker pocket is a foul and the usual response is to return a coin to the board.
Trajectory choice
Read the board
Common mistakes
Do not move the striker beyond its baseline before striking, and do not treat a pocketed striker as a scoring coin. Find striker and pocket in the glossary.