It is a popular Indian board game. Carrom was a staple part of family gatherings, summer holidays, and social events for many years. The game of carrom has evolved over the years thanks to technological advances and is now available online on several gaming platforms. Online carrom has its rules and gameplay, but the games offer entertainment.
Carrom, also known as Karrom, is very popular in Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Many players take part in carrom tournaments. Many people may not have heard of carrom’s many variations. Six of our favorite board games have six carrom variations.
Carrom Game Variations
Although there are some rules and regulations that the ICF (governing body of carrom) has established, certain regions may not follow them all. This led to the development of different versions. These are some of the interesting variants of the game.
Total Point Carrom
Carrom is a game of total point. This can be played on a real board in India. Total point can be used for entertainment and recreation, where players may pocket any pucks/carrommen. Each black carromman has 5 points, while each white one has 10 points. After pocketing the red queen, 50 points are required to cover it by a carromman.
The game begins with all nine black and white carrommen stacked up in the middle of the board. The queen is at the top. As long as the player has not lost any carrommen, he can continue to strike them. The turn is given to the next player if a player fails pocket a carromman.
The round is won by the player who scores the most points based upon the number of carrommen that he/she has pounded. The round ends with the player with the most carrommen putting all of the carrommen on to the board. All other players must match the score of each carromen and place the same amount of carromen onto the board. Players continue playing until one player has won all of the carromman on board.
Family Point Carrom
The Family-Point Carrom, also known as the Simple Point Carrom, is a popular carrom game variant that’s loved by both young and old. It can be played with an odd number or players. This variant is very popular in many parts of South Asia. This variant allows players to pocket any carrommen regardless of their color. The objective of the game is the same as the classic carrom. You flick the striker to get the carrommen into any one of four pockets. These are some rules that are different from the classic carrom.
- Black carrommen have 5 points, white carrommen 10 points, and the queen 25 points.
- To get points, the player must pocket a carrommen in any color. The queen is returned to board if the player fails cover her.
- The game is won by the player who has the most points at the end.
Point Carrom
Point Carrom is a popular variant among children, and is often played in East Asia. Although the game is very similar to family-point, here are some rules for this carrom variation.
- Any color puck can be pocketed by players.
- Each black puck carries 1 point, while the white pucks carry 1 each. The queen carries 3 points.
- A player who pockets a queen must also pocket a puck during the next strike to cover it.
- The game is won by the player who scores 21 points.
- If no player can score 21 points, then the winner is the one with the most points. If the score is tied, players must play a tiebreaker round in which the players with the highest score choose a color and pocket carsrommen from an alternate color.
Also Read: Types of carrom boards
Duboo
Duboo is a variant of carrom that is most commonly played in Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city. This variant is slightly different in that the board is larger than usual and players slide the striker to hit the pucks.
Professional Carrom
The Professional Carrom variant assigns each player a color and allows them to pocket only that color. These rules are mostly used in India and the UK, while some are similar to those for the MPL online carrom game. These are the rules for this variant.
- A player can score 29 points to cover the queen, but not more if their score is already 21.
- You can take the queen with you at all times, but it must be taken out before the last puck. The queen and the cover cannot be kept in the same pocket.
- The winner gets one point for each opponent’s pucks on board, and three points if they cover the queen.
- To pocket the pucks, players can choose from any style they like.
- A striker is worth one puck.
- The queen is automatically covered if the assigned puck and queen are pocketed at the same time.
- A penalty is assessed if a player touches the puck immediately before the queen.
Tokyu-Ban
Carrom was first introduced in Japan in the 20th century. Tokyu-ban, the Showa period’s name for the game, made it very popular. Tokyu-ban is either a throw board or a fight board board. Carrom has not lost its popularity in Hikone and Shiga.
These are carrom game variations that are widely played in various countries and regions. The online game of carrom on MPL is very similar to the Professional Carrom version. You will only be playing against one opponent on the MPL App.