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- Carrom
How to score Carrom
Only the winner of a board scores: 1 point for each of the other side’s men still on the board, plus 3 for the queen if they covered it. The first to 25 wins, or the leader after eight boards. Keep the boards on the free score sheet below, or in the Scorepad.
- 2 to 4 players
- 9 men a side and the queen
- To 25, or eight boards
- Only the board winner scores
Tabletales is free on iPhone and iPad.
This is the real app screen, live. Each board goes under one player of the side that won it; the teams bar adds them up.
Carrom
A flicking game where you shoot a striker to sink your nine carrom men and the red queen into the corner pockets; whoever clears their men first wins the board and scores for every opposing man left, and the game goes to 25 points or eight boards.
Carrom on BoardGameGeek.
How to play Carrom, in brief
On a square board with a pocket in each corner, you flick a heavy disc, the striker, to sink your nine pieces (carrom men). Clear yours first to win the board.
- Set upArrange 9 white men, 9 black men and the red queen in the center, queen in the middle. Play one on one, or with partners opposite.
- StrikeWhoever breaks plays white. Place the striker on your side’s baselines and flick it with a finger. Sink one of your men and you shoot again.
- Cover the queenAfter sinking one of your men, you may pocket the queen; your next shot must then sink one of your men to cover it, or she goes back.
- Play to 25Only the winner of a board scores. A game runs to 25 points or eight boards, whichever comes first.
Count what the other side left behind.
A board ends when one side pockets the last of its nine men. That side scores; the other scores nothing, however many it sank. Fouls cost you a pocketed man, not points.
What a board is worth
| On the board | Points |
|---|---|
| Each of the other side’s men still on the board | 1 |
| The queen, covered by the board winnerNot once the winner’s score has reached 22 | 3 |
| The queen, covered by the side that loses the boardIt scores for nobody | 0 |
| The side that loses the board | 0 |
| The most one board can be worth | 12 |
- Finish the boardThe board ends when a side pockets the last of its men, and only that side scores. Sink your last man while the queen is still on the board, though, and you lose the board: the other side scores 3 (1 once it has 22).
- Count the other side’s men1 point for each of the other side’s men still on the board.
- Add the queen, maybe3 more if the winner covered the queen (pocketed one of their own men after it, or in the same stroke), but not once their score has reached 22.
- Fouls cost men, not pointsPocketing the striker, for one, costs your turn and puts one of your pocketed men back on the board.
- Play to 25A game is 25 points or eight boards, whichever comes first. A level score after eight boards plays one more board. A match is the best of three games.
Board 7: the queen counts for nothing at 22.
Doubles: You and Dev against Priya and Sam, playing to 25. Going into board 7 it is 20 to 22. Priya covers the queen, then Sam pockets their side’s last man with 3 of yours still on the board. They have already reached 22, so the queen adds nothing. This is board 7, hand 7 of the game above, typed under Priya for her side.
| Team | The other side’s men left, plus the queen | Board |
|---|---|---|
| Priya and Sam | Last man in, with 3 of yours left; Priya covered the queen3 men, and no queen once a side has 22 | 3 |
| You and Dev | Lost the boardThe side that loses a board scores nothing | 0 |
Two sides, one count to 25.
Tabletales is a scorepad and scrapbook for game night. For carrom doubles, pick Teams, set Play to a score to 25, and type each board under one player of the side that won it. For singles, use Highest wins the same way.
- Teams add themselvesTap a letter to put each player on Team A or B. The teams bar adds the partners’ points and puts the trophy on the side ahead.
- 25 is on the padSet the game to play to 25 and the target sits at the top of the Scorepad. The app will not stop the game after eight boards, so watch the hand number yourself.
- A board on the keypadType the board’s points, or type the men left plus the queen as you count them (4 + 3) and Tabletales adds it up. The app does not know the 22 rule, so leave the 3 off once a side gets there.
- And the night is keptSave it with who played and a photo of the board. Each game gets a history: how often you play it, who with, and who wins.
- Everyone who was there
- Photos from the table
- Carrom, with its scores
Common Carrom scoring mistakes
- Giving the losing side pointsOnly the board winner scores: 1 for each of the other side’s men left, plus the queen if the winner covered it.
- Scoring an uncovered queenA queen pocketed without a cover goes back to the center, and a queen covered by the side that loses the board scores for nobody.
- Counting the queen too late in the gameOnce a side’s score reaches 22, covering the queen earns it nothing, and no board is ever worth more than 12.
- Turning fouls into minus pointsUnder the ICF laws a foul costs a pocketed man, placed back on the board, and often the turn, not points.
Carrom scoring, answered
- How do you score carrom?
- Only the side that wins a board scores: 1 point for each of the other side’s men left on the board, plus 3 for the queen if the winner covered it. The first to 25 wins the game.
- How many points is the queen worth in carrom?
- 3, but only to the side that wins the board, only if that side covered it, and only while its score is under 22.
- How many points is a game of carrom?
- 25 under the International Carrom Federation’s laws, or the leader after eight boards if nobody gets there first. A match is the best of three games.
Carrom score sheet
Print one per game: two sides, eight boards and a spare for a tie, the points each board and a running total, with the scoring at the bottom.
Score another game
This page follows the International Carrom Federation’s laws. Wikipedia puts the queen cutoff at 21 rather than 22, and describes looser point games, such as one where a man of either color counts 1. We found no source for a game to 29. Rules checked on 19 October 2026 against the Laws of Carrom (ICF, via Carrom UK), Carrom UK’s rules and Wikipedia.
Keep score tonight. Keep the night for good.
Tabletales adds up every hand, then saves the whole night: the games, the scores, the photos and who was there.
