Pétanque
Multicultural Games

State the name of your game and why you chose it.

We chose Petanque because the name sounded interesting and different. We had never heard of it before.

List the countries where it is played and its origin.

It originated in France where it is very popular. It is now played all over the world.

Describe how your game is played. State the object of the game. Clearly describe the rules.

• Petanque must be played by 2 teams, each consisting of 1-4 people (or more). The number of bowls used depends on how many people play.
• To see who bowls first you flip a coin.   The team who wins the toss stands in a circle that they scratched into the ground, and throw a cochanet (tiny ball) out to a spot. 
• The same team stands in the same circle again and bowls a steel ball as close to the cochanet as possible.
• The next team bowls and tries to get their bowl closer to the cachanet than the first team.  OR, they can knock the team's ball out.
• After everyone has run out of bowls, the team that is closest to the cochanet wins.

List the equipment needed.

• Petanque is played on a flat surface.
• You need steel balls and a cochanet.

Make recommendations for what type of athlete would enjoy playing this game. What skills does it demand?

• Christina:  No great strength is needed to play Petanque.  The rules and strategies are easy to learn, therefore all ages can play.  An athlete who enjoys bowling would like this game because it is basically bowling.
• Lauren:  Athletes who like to take their time mastering small little things rather than relying on strength might prefer this game.   It would be nice to play outside with your friends and family at a barbecue.

What are your feelings about this game? Did you enjoy playing it? Would you recommend it?

• Christina:  Petanque is an easy game and not much setting up is required so you could play when some friends are over.  I myself like games that require running around so this would be a boring game for me.
• Lauren:  I have never played this game so I'm not sure if I would like it or not, but I have played something very similar to it.  I do like it because it is a fun game.  It isn't aggressive, and if you lose it is fine because it is mostly just fun.   But I think I would get bored if I played it a lot.

Multicultural Games Unit   | Games Index |  Middle School  |  GAnet

Germantown Academy
P.O. Box 278
Ft. Washington, PA 19034
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