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Pétanque articles for North American players

Rules and scoring, technique drills, boules and accessories, club and event organizing, plus what the game does for your body. 41 articles, grouped so you can read a subject through rather than one post at a time.

Subjects

All articles

Equipment

Do striations on pétanque boules matter?

Striations change grip and help you spot your set, and the rules allow grooves up to 1 mm deep. What each maker offers and the pattern for pointers or shooters.

7 min read
Clubs

What a night at Carreau Club is like

Carreau Club in Brooklyn: 13 pétanque courts, nine of them indoors, walk-ins welcome, a free Friday beginners tournament and what a court costs.

4 min read
Getting started

How to pronounce pétanque in English

Pétanque is pronounced pay-TONK. Learn where the stress falls, how the French say it, its other English names like boules and the spellings people search.

4 min read
Getting started

Pétanque vs cornhole: cost, space and who can play

Pétanque and cornhole compared on price, playing space, team size and accessibility, with the figures both governing bodies publish and the rules behind them.

9 min read
Tournaments

Rocher and Subrenat win the 2026 US Open of Pétanque

Dylan Rocher and Jean-Pierre Subrenat won the 2026 US Open of Pétanque in Hoboken. Full results, bracket paths, the final on video and the prize money.

6 min read
Getting started

How far to throw the jack in pétanque

The pétanque jack: 30 mm, 10 to 18 g, thrown 6 to 10 m from the circle and at least 50 cm from obstacles. What happens after an invalid throw or a dead jack.

5 min read
Technique

Pétanque books on tactics and technique

Eight pétanque books on technique and tactics, three in English and five in French, with author, year, level, availability and what each one teaches.

6 min read
Equipment

Obut vs MS Pétanque vs La Boule Bleue: which brand fits you

Obut, MS Pétanque and La Boule Bleue compared on hardness, steel, maker prices and playing role, with the model each brand does best and what it costs.

9 min read
Equipment

What boules the top pétanque players use

Dylan Rocher throws the Obut ATX at 73 mm and 680 g, and Diego Rizzi plays for Boulenciel. The boules, sizes and weights of today’s pétanque champions.

6 min read
Tournaments

Famous pétanque players and their world titles

Philippe Quintais and Philippe Suchaud hold 14 world titles each. Meet the pétanque champions from 1959 to Dylan Rocher and the best North American results.

9 min read
Clubs

How to get liability insurance for a pétanque club

How a pétanque club gets liability cover: FPUSA, Pétanque Québec, Pétanque Canada and Mexico terms, what a parks department checks and the steps to take.

8 min read
Getting started

How long a pétanque game takes

A timed pétanque game lasts 45 minutes in singles, 60 in doubles and 60 or 75 in triples, plus one end. How FPUSA timed games end, tie-break included.

6 min read

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