Rules of the game
French billiards is played with 3 balls (white, spot white/yellow, red) on a table with no pockets. Each player uses one of the two white balls as their cue ball — the other white ball and the red are their object balls.
Objective
Score a carom: strike the other two balls with your own in a single shot. The player keeps the table as long as they score consecutive caroms; on the first miss, it is the opponent's turn.
Setup
| Ball | Starting position |
|---|---|
| Red | Top diamond |
| Yellow (spot ball) | Bottom center diamond |
| White (the player who starts) | Bottom side diamond (right or left) |
The first carom of the game must strike the red ball first.
Game variants
| Mode | Principle |
|---|---|
| Straight rail | No cushion constraint: reach a number of points fixed in advance. The most accessible variant. |
| One-cushion | The cue ball must touch at least one cushion before the second contact. |
| Balkline (e.g. 47/2) | Lines drawn 47 cm from the cushions mark out 9 zones. The balls cannot stay grouped indefinitely in the same zone ("closed balkline"): beyond a set number of shots, a ball must be sent out of the zone. |
| Three-cushion | The cue ball must touch 3 different cushions before completing the carom. The most technical variant. |
| Artistic | Set figures, with balls positioned at precise spots for each figure. |
Zones: corner restriction and balkline play
A tightly grouped position would be replayed indefinitely if nothing forbade it. That is exactly what zone rules are there to prevent, and they are what gives running-play technique its point.
Corner restriction, in straight rail
When both object balls end up together in a corner zone, the player may only score a limited number of consecutive points there: beyond that, they must have sent at least one ball out of the zone. Getting out of the corner is therefore part of the shot to plan, not a rescue move.
Balkline play
Balkline generalizes the idea to the whole table. Lines drawn in chalk parallel to the cushions divide the surface into zones, and the game's name describes the setup exactly:
| Game | Lines | Zones | Points allowed per zone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Balkline 47/1 | 47 cm from each cushion | 9 | 1 |
| Balkline 47/2 | 47 cm from each cushion | 9 | 2 |
| Balkline 71/2 | 71 cm from each cushion | 6 | 2 |
The first number is the distance of the lines from the cushions, the second the number of points that can be scored with both object balls inside the same zone. Once that quota is used up, one of them must be sent out. The referee calls "in" when both balls have entered a zone: the player is warned that they must send one out, or lose their turn.
At the ends of the lines, small squares called anchor spaces, 17.8 cm on a side, sit against the cushion — they stop players from working around the rule by playing the balls right on a line. That is where balkline's manoeuvre names come from: working the anchor, working the cross, playing the line.
Common fouls
- Push shot: striking the ball twice with the tip, or pushing the cue ball while it is already in contact with ball 2 ("push-through").
- Miscue: the tip sliding off the ball (a characteristic sharp sound), usually caused by too little chalk or a contact point too far from center.
- Ball off the table: a ball that jumps off the table.
- Playing before the balls have fully stopped from the previous shot.
- Touching a ball with your hand or another part of your body.
⚠️ This summary covers the main principles. For competition refereeing, refer to the official sporting code of the French Billiards Federation.