Breton Boules
The game of Breton boules is an ancient ball game that's played in the western part of France, Brittany. Breton boules is very similar to classic boules or pétanque, but it's rules are slightly different. Breton boules is played in our village almost every day on the single terrain behind the Tabac (bar) and at the boulodrome (multi-terrain competition field) when there's inter-village competitions. Competitions are fun to participate in with most of the village turning out to play or watch and with visitors from nearby villages bolstering numbers, the stalls selling frites (hot chips) and saucisses (sausages) get busy and are great spots for some lively conversations.
An easy game to play at home (maybe minus a terrain) and one of the best ways to immerse yourself in French life when in France. Just ask if you can join in, and unless it’s an inter-commune competition, you’ll be welcomed to participate. If you’re having trouble sourcing a boules game for yourself, then take a look at this game available on Amazon.
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Breton boules played at Saint Malo in terrain
The boules terrain beside the great walls of Saint Malo
Breton boules is also called boule en bois because the boules in the past were made of hard wood, either ash, elm, beech or box. Now the boules (balls) are made of synthetic resin. The balls adhere to strict weights of between 600 grams and 1 kilogram, and their diameter must be between 92 and 110 millimetres. The jack, which can be made of metal, wood or synthetic material, must have a diameter of between 25 and 40 millimetres. Read on to find out how to play Breton boules.
How to Play Breton Boules
The rules of how to play boules the Breton way are fairly simple. Follow them and you'll have hours of fun practicing and competing with others who also love this classic French game. The object of the game is to place your balls as close as possible to the jack in relation to the other players - that's it!
1. A mark on the ground is made near one end of the field, and all throws are made from behind this mark. The mark is usually only a line drawn on the ground.
2. The jack is thrown by the player who wins the toss, who then takes their turn by throwing their ball. Play then shifts to the first player of the opposing team, who throws their ball. Then they hand over to a player from the opposing team. From that moment, the team with the boule closest to the jack takes the temporary advantage. The opposing team must play until they regain the advantage.
3. Players have a choice to roll their boule along the terrain ground, throw their boule high in the air hoping it lands close to the jack, or throwing it high so when it lands it hits the closest boule to the jack, and knocks the boule away.
4. Each ball placed closest to the jack is worth one point. The game ends when the agreed number of points set prior to the game starting, are reached. Game points are usually set between 10 and 13.
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