Carrom Golf Board Game

The Carrom Game Board and Pieces

Whether you are playing a Carrom golf board game, one of the other variants such as pool or even straight carrom, the board is key to play. The traditional game uses a 29” x 29” square, wooden game board with four corner pockets. The object is to be the first to get your nine pieces and the red queen into those pockets. The playing surface is extremely smooth and the frame is thick and hard. These characteristics mean that the game requires a level of finesse and offers strong rebounding and fast action.

The game is played with pieces that resemble checkers. In the traditional game, there are nine black, nine white and one red, called the Queen. These are moved by hitting them with a striker, the object being to hit them into the corner pockets. The striker is about three times heavier than the other pieces, which allows for wide ranging strategy and technique and complex moves.

Carrom Golf Board Games

Given the flexibility of this type of game, it is no surprise that it would lend itself to golf. There are a couple of different games that have been very popular over the years.

Bumper Golf

Bumper Golf, published by S&S Worldwide is a version of the Carrom golf board game sometimes seen in parks and arcades. The game board depicts an 18-hole golf course. Players shoot wooden disks from numbered tee spots, trying to sink their disk into the equivalent numbered cup. There are two ways to play this game:

• The first version is more like traditional golf with each player playing each hole one at a time. At the end of 18 holes the player with the fewest stokes wins.
• The second version is more like traditional Carrom, with players alternating shots. The object of this game is to be the first to finish the course, which is challenging since opposing players can block holes or knock the other players disks out of position.

Tigerhawk's Pocket Golf

Played with cues, this game from Tigerhawk Industries combines golf and pool in a single, fun to play golf game. Billed as "the same game you played as a kid, this version is played on a 34” x 50” maple hardwood frame with steel corner reinforcements and a colorful silk-screened coated surface. The holes are not depressions in the surface, but rather small, enclosed areas of the board.

Strokes Table Golf

Strokes Table Golf Games are a mixture of golf and pool. The object of the game is to be the first to finish the course. It is played in turns with the first player placing his piece on the first tee and then and then shooting toward Hole One. The second player does the same and this continues until Hole One has been completed, at which time the players move on to Hole Two. The course has traps, which can work to either your advantage or disadvantage. Knocking your opponent into a trap can help you pick up additional shots or even knock your opponent back a hole. These defensive features harken back to traditional carrom strategies. The boards feature a wooden base and border along with wooden trees. The games come in three sizes:

• The 3' x 3' “9 hole” table is designed for children between 6 and 10 years of age. The smaller size makes it easier for youngsters to reach across the table.
• The 4' x 4' “9 hole” table is for teens and adults. The game looks like golf but plays like pool.
• The 4' x 8' “18 hole” table combines difficulty with beauty. Jumps and traps make this game both entertaining and challenging. Equipped with a par card allowing players to play alone or in competition, this game also boasts more than 50 trees of differing shades and sizes for a more realistic look. This table is the top of the line Stokes Table Golf Game.

Carrom's Own Hole in One Game

While other manufacturers of Carrom-style golf games have remained true to the basics of Carrom play, the Carrom Company, a maker of high quality Carrom boards and table games of all sorts, departed from this when it created a golf game of its own.

Carrom's Hole in One Game is a game of precision and skill for two or more players, aged 6 years and up, featuring golf-related graphics. Made of hardwood, the game includes metal rods in the shape of golf clubs and one golf ball. The object of the game is to use the metal rods to move the golf ball from one end of the playing board to the other, avoiding all the holes but the last one. Carrom's Hole in One game is, with the exception of the golf-motif graphics, identical in nature and goal to another classic Carrom game, Shoot the Moon.

In Conclusion

Carrom, this Southeast Asian game, is making real in-roads in America and all over the world, with variations offered that would please any fan of pool, bowling, golf, and other sports by taking their game and bringing it to a table top. The Carrom golf board games offered are fun and challenging, with features of both golf and traditional Carrom, and they are a must for any real golf fan.