2 or 4 players · 15–25 min · Skill
Carrom online with friends
Carrom is the board game of Indian summer holidays, the one that lives under the bed, comes out with a tin of powder and keeps cousins arguing late into the night. With a flick of your finger you send the striker across the board to knock your coins into the corner pockets. PlayAdda brings the board to your phone with physics that behave like the real thing: coins collide, bounce off the cushions and slow down on the powder. Play one-on-one or two against two with friends anywhere.
Slingshot aiming, real physics, same result on every screen.
How to play
- Tap Start Carrom, enter your name and share the code. You need two or four players.
- The first player plays White and breaks. With two players the second player plays Black; with four, players alternate White and Black as teams.
- On your turn, use the slider to slide the striker along your baseline.
- Press on the board and drag back away from your target. Release to shoot. Everyone watches the shot play out at the same time.
The board
The square board has a pocket in each corner. At the start, nine white coins, nine black coins and the red queen are arranged in the centre. The queen sits in the middle. Each player has a baseline in front of them, and the striker must be placed on your baseline before each shot. Your view is turned so that your own baseline is always at the bottom of your screen.
The rules
- Pocket your own coins. If you pocket at least one coin of your colour, you shoot again.
- Opponent’s coins pocketed by you count for them.
- Striker foul: if the striker goes into a pocket, your turn ends and one of your pocketed coins returns to the centre.
- The queen: pocketing the queen gives you another shot, and you must then cover it by pocketing one of your own coins. If you pocket a coin of your colour in the same shot as the queen, it is covered at once. If you miss the cover, the queen goes back to the centre.
- Winning: the first side to pocket all nine of its coins wins. Points are one per opponent coin still on the board, plus 3 for a covered queen.
These are simplified friendly rules, close to how most families play at home. Official tournament rules add more fouls and multi-board scoring. We may add them as options later.
Tips
- Gentle wins. Hard shots scatter coins everywhere, including into the wrong pocket. Use a medium pull for most shots.
- Use the cushions. Bounce the striker off a side to reach coins sitting behind other coins.
- Plan the queen. Go for the queen when one of your coins is sitting near a pocket, so the cover shot is easy.
- Mind the striker. Shots aimed straight at a pocket can follow the coin in. Hit the coin slightly off-centre.
Frequently asked questions
How do I aim and shoot?
On your turn, slide the Striker position control to place the striker on your baseline. Then put your finger on the board, drag backwards away from where you want to shoot, like pulling a slingshot, and let go. A dotted line shows your aim; the further you pull, the harder the shot.
Is the physics the same for everyone?
Yes. Each shot is simulated once by the host’s browser with the same deterministic physics, and the result is replayed on every screen. Everybody sees exactly the same bounces and the same final positions, so there is never an argument about where a coin ended up.
Can four people play?
Yes. With four players you play as two teams: players 1 and 3 are White, players 2 and 4 are Black. Turns rotate around the board, and each player shoots from their own baseline.
What happens if I pocket the striker?
That is a foul. Your turn ends, and if you have already pocketed any coins, one of them comes back to the centre of the board.
What happens if I pocket my opponent’s coin?
It counts for them, not you, and your turn ends unless you also pocketed one of your own coins in the same shot.
How is the winner scored?
The first side to pocket all nine of its coins wins. The winner scores one point for each coin the opponent still has on the board, plus 3 points if the winner covered the queen.
Free, no app, no signup. Share the code and play.
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