What is Carrom?

The standardized Indian game is played on a board of lacquered plywood, normally with a 29 inch (74 cm) square playing surface.The object of the game is to strike or flick with a finger a comparatively heavy disk called a "striker" such that it contacts lighter object disks called "carrom-men" and propels them into one of four corner pockets.

Carrom-men

A carrom-man is a usually wooden uniform small disk used in playing carrom. The Carrom-men have a smooth movement in a flat position on the surface of the carrom board when hit by a striker of standard specification.The carrom-men come in two colors denoting the two players (or, in doubles play, teams). Traditionally, these colors are white (or unstained) and black.

ICF-sanctioned pieces must have a diameter of no more than 3.18 cm and no less than 3.02 cm, and must be between 7 mm and 9 mm thick, with an edge that is round and plain, and a weight of 5–5.5 g.

The queen

The red queen or "match-taker" coin/seed, is the most powerful carrom piece. It is placed at the center of the circle.A player has the right to pocket the queen and to cover it provided a carrom-man of the player's own has already been pocketed and if pockets opponents piece then he looses. In other way, if a player sinks the opponents coin while trying to cover the queen, the queen comes out and is placed on the center, the opponent's coin stays down, and the player loses his turn.

The striker

The striker is a larger, heavier piece, flicked with the finger to hit the carrom-men and knock them into the corner pockets or into each other. According to the laws by ICF, the striker "shall be smooth and round, with a diameter not more than 4.13 cm.".

Powder

Fine-grained powder is used on the board to enable the pieces to slide easily. Boric acid powder is the most commonly used for this purpose.