Cross Boccia

Singles game

All players receive three identical cue balls. First, one player is chosen/ drawn by lot to throw the target ball from a freely selectable starting point. Then all other players also play from this starting point. The target ball can be thrown at any point, there is no specific playing field. The player who threw the target ball may also start. After he has placed his first cue ball, the remaining players each throw one of their cue balls in turn. The player whose cue ball is furthest away from the target ball now throws his second and third cue ball. The other players also throw their second and third cue ball, depending on the distance of their cue ball from the target ball. The points are then counted. The player who has collected the most points starts the next round by throwing the target ball to any location. If several players have scored the same number of points within a round, the player who won the previous round may start the next round.

Course of the game Team

A team consists of three players. Each team plays with 2 sets, i.e. 6 cue balls in total, with each player receiving two cue balls. There are always 2 teams playing against each other. The team game is divided into two phases. At the start of the game, a team is drawn by lot or determined, which throws the marker and thus opens the game. All players on both teams then take it in turns to throw their first cue ball. The best-placed cue ball of each team is then determined and compared with the opposing team's best-placed cue ball. The team whose distance between the best-placed cue ball and the marker is the greatest throws its next cue ball and starts the second phase. In the second phase, each team only throws until they beat the distance to the marker. This continues until all cue balls have been thrown. If one team does not manage to beat the distance to the marker and the other team still has cue balls left, this team has the opportunity to score points.

Points

Each cue ball that is closer to the target ball than one of the opponents' balls counts as one point. If several cue balls from different players are at the same distance from the target ball or touch it, each ball is scored. If a cue ball rests on an opponent's ball at least halfway, this is a "kill" and the generic ball is not scored. If a player deliberately plays an object (e.g. a cushion) with his first throw at the start of a round, this must be announced in advance if he wants all other players to play this combination as well. If a player does not play this combination despite the announcement, his ball is not scored. A set ends as soon as a player has scored 13 points. However, the set must be decided with a 2-point gap to the second-best player (e.g. 11-13 or 12-14). The game is decided as soon as one of the players has won two sets.

Combos

Collecting points is not fast enough for you! Then combos are just the thing for you! Place two of your cue balls directly next to each other so that they touch. If one of them is closer to the target ball than an opponent's ball, this combo scores 3 points. If three of your cue balls are directly next to each other and touch each other and one of them is closer to the target ball than an opponent's ball, this combo scores 6 points.

Picture credits

• Cover picture: Clipart courtesy of the publisher buch+musik ejw-service gmbh, Stuttgart - www.ejw-buch.de from: Jungscharleiter Grafik-CD plus; Second revised edition 2002 © buch+musik ejw-service gmbh, Stuttgart