Pétanque

Google Doodle game shows you how to play the French sport of Pétanque then lets you compete against friends and others online.

The pétanque terrain itself is actually half of a baguette, cut longways, and in the background you can see herbs as well as veggies like tomatoes. Once you’re feeling confident, you can jump into the online modes, where you can compete against random players or invite your friends to play a match. Today’s Google Doodle game offers a chance to try a version of pétanque online with either your phone or computer.

You might be familiar with bocce, lawn bowling, or even curling, but in France, they call it pétanque and an upcoming Google Doodle lets us play a game or two.

There's a singles and doubles mode, so if you and three friends are particularly antsy in your office or home cubicle, you all might want to try this out. A lot of cultures have this particular game where you aim and launch stones to try and get them as close to a target as possible while trying to block your opponent's stones from doing the same. The most proximate boules from one team to rest near the cochonnet each score one point.

The International Federation of Pétanque and Provençal Game estimates that the sport has around 10-12 million players worldwide in 160 countries.

According to thisispetanque, points are scored by having one or more of your boules closer to the target than those of your opponent, after all boules have been thrown. The origin of the game dates back to as early as the sixth century, according to Petanque Australia. However, the current form of the game originated in 1907 in La Ciotat, in Provence, France, which is now know as the Jules Lenoir Boulodrome. In the new game, the length of the field was reduced by roughly half and a player no longer engaged in a run-up while throwing a ball but stood stationary in a circle. And an estimated 1.5 million Chinese children apparently play the game at school, as per the report.

The object is to get your ball closer to the target than your opponent can. Give it a spin.

The game also gives you an arrow guide to show you the general direction your ball will travel. In Google's game the player with the ball closest to the target at the end of each round scores more points. But first, you might want to read on for some tips, then you can click the link at the end of the article.