Learn Sports Coaching with Free Lessons & Tips

In a standard game of **carrom**, there are **19 coins** in total, which include:

- **9 white coins**
- **9 black coins**
- **1 queen (usually red)**

### **Role of the Queen**
The **queen** is the highest-valued piece in the game. Pocketing the queen, however, does not automatically award a player points. For a player to gain the queen, a player has to observe a special rule known as **covering the queen**.

### **Queen's Rules**
1. **Pocketing the Queen:** A player can pocket the queen during any stage of the game.
2. **Covering the Queen:** Once a player pockets the queen, the player is required to **immediately** pocket one of their own coins (white or black, depending on the color they have been assigned) in the same turn. This is referred to as **covering the queen**.
3. **Failure to Cover:** In case a player does not cover the queen in the same turn, the queen is placed back in the center of the board.
4. **Queen points:** If properly covered, the queen is **3 points** in regular rules.

The game typically goes on until a player has reached a set **points limit** (e.g., 25 or 29) or until all coins are pocketed.

The player who wins the "break" starts.

The break is determined by each player flicking a carrom man.

The player whose carrom man lands closest to the center circle wins the break.

Therefore, the break winner strikes first.

• Carrom is a tabletop "strike and pocket" game from India.
• Players flick a striker to pocket discs, including the valuable "Queen."
• It's a popular pastime and competitive sport, especially in South Asia.
• The International Carrom Federation (ICF) regulates official play.
• It uses a square wooden board, discs, a striker, and powder.
• Carrom fosters social interaction among families and friends.
• It holds significant cultural importance in the region.
• There are efforts to include Carrom in the Olympic Games.