Carrom Online
How to Play Carrom: Rules for Beginners
Carrom is a classic table game from South Asia, often described as a mix of pool and air hockey. Players flick a heavy disc, the striker, to knock lighter coins into the four corner pockets. This guide covers everything you need to play, from the first break to winning a match.
The board and pieces
A carrom board is a smooth, square wooden board with a pocket in each corner and a raised wooden frame (the cushions) around the edge. Every side has a baseline: two parallel lines with a red circle at each end. The player sitting on that side must place the striker between those lines.
- 9 white coins and 9 black coins, one colour for each player or team.
- 1 red coin, the Queen, worth bonus points.
- The striker: a larger, heavier disc used to hit the coins.
At the start the Queen sits on the centre spot, with the other coins packed around her in two rings.
Goal of the game
Pocket all nine coins of your colour and make sure the Queen is pocketed and covered before your opponent pockets theirs. The player who clears their coins first wins the round, which is called a board.
Starting a game: the break
The first shot of a board is the break: a strong shot into the centre pack to scatter the coins. The player who breaks plays the white coins. In Carrom Online, the break alternates every board so both sides get a turn to open.
Placing and shooting the striker
Before each shot, place the striker on your own baseline. You may slide it anywhere along the line, but it can't sit on top of a coin. Then flick it forward to hit the coins.
- You must shoot forward, away from your own side. To reach a coin behind your baseline, bounce the striker off a cushion (a rebound or bank shot).
- The striker comes back to the next player after every shot.
Turns: when you play again
- Pocket one of your own coins and you shoot again. Keep going as long as you keep pocketing your colour.
- Pocket only your opponent's coin and your turn ends. That coin stays pocketed and counts for your opponent.
- Miss everything and your turn simply passes.
The Queen and "covering"
The red Queen can be pocketed by either player at any time after the break. But pocketing her isn't enough: you must cover her by pocketing one of your own coins on the same shot or your very next shot.
- Covered: the Queen is yours, and she adds bonus points if you win the board.
- Not covered: she goes back to the centre of the board.
- You can't pocket your last coin until the Queen has been pocketed and covered.
Fouls and penalties
A foul ends your turn and costs you a coin: one of your pocketed coins goes back to the centre. If you haven't pocketed any yet, you owe one, and your next pocketed coin goes back instead. The common fouls are:
- Pocketing the striker. Any of your coins pocketed on that shot also return, and if you had just pocketed the Queen, she goes back too.
- Pocketing your last coin before the Queen is covered.
- Pocketing your opponent's last coin before the Queen is covered.
Scoring and winning
When a player clears all of their coins (with the Queen covered), the board ends and the winner scores:
- 1 point for every coin the opponent still has on the board.
- +3 points for the Queen, if the winner was the one who covered her. Under common club rules this bonus only counts while the winner has fewer than 22 points.
Boards continue until one side reaches 25 points and wins the match.
Playing with four players
In doubles, partners sit opposite each other and share a colour. Turns go around the board, so each team alternates. Carrom Online supports 2 vs 2 on one device, and any seat can be filled by a computer player.
How to play on Carrom Online
- Place: use the slider under the board, or drag the striker sideways along your baseline.
- Aim and power: pull back from the striker like a slingshot. The dotted line shows the striker's path, and the black arrow shows where the coin you hit will go. The further you pull, the harder the shot.
- Shoot: let go. To cancel, slide your finger back close to the striker before releasing.
- Zoom: pinch with two fingers or tap the 🔍 button.
Rules vary a little between regions and clubs. Carrom Online follows the widely used rules above, so you can learn here and play anywhere.