These rules are taken from the International Carrom Federation

For full details please visit the ICF website.

Two, three or four people can play. In singles, your opponent sits across from you; in doubles, you play opposite your partner. With three, you can play for points (blacks count one, whites count two, the queen counts five.)

How to Arrange the Carrom Pieces on the Board

Line up the double whites to aim ‘dead-on’ into a corner pocket. In doubles, or for beginners, aim at the opposite pocket from your striking position and shoot straight on. In advanced singles, align coins towards the home pocket opposite your striking position and bank off the opposite frame, driving the coins closer to your baseline.

Carrom Rules

Whoever plays first, or breaks, is always white. The object of the game is to sink all of your pieces, using the heavier ‘striker’, in any of the pockets before your opponent. Your turn continues as long as you keep sinking your pieces – luck shots count and all combinations are permitted.

Where to Shoot From

When placing the striker on the board to shoot, the striker must touch both ‘base lines’ (see left diagram), either covering the red circle completely, or not touching it at all. The striker may not touch the diagonal arrow line.

How to Shoot

Shooting styles are very personal – whichever ‘grip’ works for you is fine as long as you ‘flick’ the striker and don’t push it. Generally, it’s best to orient your body in order to see the line of your aim while shooting comfortably; you may not move or leave your chair.

For forward shots, you can use your index finger, middle finger, or even the ‘scissors’ shot (right).

Tip on Technique: Before shooting, try touching the striker with your fingernail, to be sure that it’s really on line. This will improve your accuracy and prevent you from hurting your finger.

For ‘back-shots’ you may only use your thumb or the scissors technique.

Body Position

No part of your body, except your hand, may cross the imaginary diagonal line (wrong in illustration) nor may your elbow protrude over the frame in front of you. Even your feet or knees my not leave your quadrant. In tournament play, you may not leave your chair or move your chair but you can sit on the edge of your chair to get a good sight line.

What About the Queen?

The red piece, or ‘queen,’ can be pocketed at any time after sinking your first piece but must be sunk before your last one. After pocketing the queen, you must sink one of your pieces, thereby ‘covering’ it, into any pocket in the next shot, or she is returned to the center spot auto locksmith.

Once the queen is covered, whoever clears their pieces first wins the ‘board’.

Counting Points

A game consists of 25 points or eight boards, whichever comes first. The winner of a board collects one point for each of the opponent’s pieces left at the finish and three points for the queen if covered by the winner (if covered by the loser, no-one gets those points). No more points are collected for the queen after your score reaches 22.