Play Pétanque, the French boules game, free in your browser. Aim and throw your boules across the piste, roll them close to the jack, knock the opponent away, and score the end by proximity against the AI. No download required.
Pétanque is a target game from the south of France played with heavy steel balls called boules and one small wooden ball, the jack or cochonnet. In this version you take three boules and play against the AI on a top-down gravel piste. The jack is tossed out onto the court at the start of the end, and from a fixed throwing circle each side tries to land its boules as close to it as possible. Whoever ends up with the nearest boule wins the end, so every throw is about distance control rather than raw power.
To throw, press inside the throwing circle and drag in the direction you want the boule to go. The length of your drag sets the power: a short drag is a gentle roll that stops early, while a long drag sends the boule farther up the piste. Release to let go, and the boule travels and slowly loses speed to friction until it settles. Because the ball keeps rolling after it lands, you aim a little short of where you actually want it to finish and let the roll carry it the rest of the way to the jack.
There are two classic ways to play a boule. Pointing means rolling it gently so it stops right next to the jack and takes the closest spot. Shooting means throwing harder to smash an opponent's boule out of the way, which is useful when they are holding the point. Because every ball collides realistically, a firm throw can also strike the jack and push it toward your own cluster of boules, completely changing who is winning the end. Reading the board and choosing between a safe point and an aggressive shot is the heart of the game.
An end finishes when both you and the AI have thrown all three boules. The side with the single closest boule to the jack holds the point, and it scores one point for each of its boules that lies nearer to the jack than the opponent's best boule. That means a well-placed cluster can score two or three points at once, while a single good boule from your opponent can cut you back to one. The closest boule of each colour and the lines to the jack are shown so you can see exactly who is holding before the end is settled.
Pétanque is a French boules game in which you throw hollow metal balls, called boules, down a gravel court and try to land them as close as possible to a small wooden target ball known as the jack, or cochonnet.
Drag from the throwing circle in the direction you want the boule to travel; the farther you drag, the more power the throw carries. When you release, the boule lands and rolls across the piste, slowing with friction until it stops.
Once both sides have thrown all of their boules, the side whose boule is closest to the jack holds and scores one point for every boule it has that is nearer to the jack than the opponent's closest boule. That total decides the end.
Yes. Boules collide with one another and with the jack, so you can shoot an opponent's boule off the target or nudge the jack toward your own boules. Moving the jack is a legal and common tactic in real Pétanque.
Yes, you play against an AI that throws its own boules toward the jack with a little aiming error, so it is competitive but beatable. You and the AI take turns, and the side that is not currently closest throws next.