Rules followed by Indian Federation of Carrom

Following are the shorter version of the rules followed by the Indian Carrom Federation.

1.All matches shall be decided on the basis of best of three sets of four boards or 23 points whichever is earlier. A player who reaches 23 points first or leads on conclusion of the fourth board shall be the winner of the ‘set’.

2.‘Game’ shall be called a ‘set’.

3.A time of two minutes shall be allowed between the 1st & 2nd sets and also between 2nd & 3rd sets. Players shall be allowed to consult their coaches during intervening time of two minutes.

4.Players are not allowed to leave the playing arena till the match is completed.

5.In the 3rd set, side shall be changed after two boards.

6.A player shall not take more than 10 seconds to make a stroke and/or to place the penalty/due.

7.A maximum of 11 points can be scored in a 'board'. Any due and/or c/m shall automatically be written off.

8.Queen shall have the value of two points. The player shall be entitled to be credited with the value of the Queen, only if he wins the board.

9.Loser of the board shall not get any point even if he pockets the Queen.

10.Queen is not required to be covered.

11.The player shall not lose the advantage of getting the credit of two points for pocketing Queen even if reaches the score of 21 or 22 points. In other words, a player shall get two points for pocketing Queen at all stages of the set without any consideration of the score.

12.A player has the right to pocket the Queen provided a c/m of his own has already been pocketed.

13.Queen can be pocketed even after pocketing one's all his nine white or black c/m.

14.In case a player pockets all his c/m while the Queen is on the board, the board will not be treated as over. He can pocket the Queen as the last c/m. If he pockets, he wins the board. If he fails, the turn will pass on to the opponent. The opponent can choose to pocket the

15.Queen either at the beginning or in between or in the end. If after pocketing of Queen, few c/m remain on the board, he shall continue his turn till he is able to pocket the remaining c/m. On pocketing all his c/m and the Queen, he wins the board by 2 points since his opponent has already pocketed all his c/m. If he fails to pocket any of the remaining c/m, he will lose the board with the number of c/m lying on the board.

16.Reporting time shall be five minutes before the scheduled time. A player shall lose the entire match if he fails to report to the Umpire at his match Board 5 minutes before the scheduled time of the match.

17.During those five minutes, umpires would complete all the formalities as required by them and in the meantime players may have trial testing of the board for two minutes to be completed before the scheduled time of the match.

18.Matches shall start right at the scheduled time.

19.In case the score of both the players at the end of four boards is equal, the set will be decided on the basis of TIE-BREAKER. In tie-breaker both the players will be given three chances alternatively to pocket a c/m from the same side they are already sitting.

20.Tie-breaker c/m will be placed by the Umpire within the outer circle touching the line of the outer circle in straight line of the center circle on the opposite side of the player pocketing the c/m.

21.If score remains equal even after the tie-breaker, the set shall be decided by ‘sudden death’.

22.In sudden death, both the players will be given a chance each to pocket the tie-breaker c/m from the same side they are already sitting. After availing one chance by each player, if a player fails to pocket the c/m, he loses the set. The same shall continue till a decision is arrived at.

23.First stroke for both ‘tie-breaker’ and ‘sudden death’ shall be decided by a single toss. Winner can either choose the stroke or the side. In case the winner chooses the break, the loser shall have the right to choose the side or vice versa.

24.As soon as any player places the striker on the surface of the board when it is not his turn or for making an out of turn stroke, the umpire shall immediately declare the foul and the board should not be awarded against that player. Both the umpire and the opponent shall share the responsibility of being vigilant.

25.The written protest shall be submitted within 5 minutes of completion of that particular Board. The decision of the

26.Championship/Tournament authorities should be conveyed to the parties concerned at the earliest possible.

27.Matches for cadets, sub-junior and junior players may be conducted with time limit of 20 minutes for each set and total time limit of 70 minutes for each match (including reporting/trial testing time plus two minutes time between 1st & 2nd and 2nd & 3rd sets).

28.The Chapter of Queen as given in ‘Laws of Carrom’ of ICF is changed accordingly.

29.All other rules except those mentioned above shall be applicable as provided in ‘Laws of Carrom’ of the International Carrom Federation.