Carrom Association

This week I have heard from friends in London.
They run the Carromcafe in Spitalfields market on a Sunday.

They tell me that every Sunday there are between 50-60 players, some who visit regularly.

It’s free to play.

There are six tables set up and they are busy all day.

Visitors to the city are pleasantly surprised and new friends are made.

Good news.

You can also buy delicious milkshakes & lassis.

They use only organic fruits, milk and yoghurts, and when in season, English strawberries and Alphonso mangoes, surely the tastiest in the world.

The thalis make a welcome change from roast beef, yorkshire pudding, roast potatoes and gravy.

Much healthier too.

So when you’re feeling bored, listless or at a loose end, drop by. You won’t regret it.

If you are on holiday the whole area is very interesting and the carromcafe will let you rest for a bit while you catch your breath before you go off to see the next church, park, museum or whatever. London is so exciting, beautiful but tiring.

If you feel inspired enough to want to start your own club somewhere, talk to the people on the stall.

They’re very helpful and as keen to promote carrom as I am.

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Carrom Rules

In the beginning the rules weren’t written down and so there are many variations.
In every family where the game was played they probably made up their own rules .
Then each village where the game was played would probably accept the rules of the biggest, or richest, (quite often one and the same way back when) or the oldest or whatever.
We don’t know when players started writing them down and modifying them.
However as scribes were highly regarded we must suppose that through the centuries people came to accept the written rules of the game.
(Read the article)

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Turmeric is a yellow coloured spice used a lot in Indian cooking. In laboratory tests a compound of the spice killed cancer cells. This report was written by researchers in Sept. 20 2004, International Journal of Cancer.

I wonder if they’ve found a way to remove turmeric stains from white blouses?

What has this to do with Carrom?

Well, most of the Carrom Champs are Indian.

OK they have one advantage. They grow up playing the game, you say.

But they also have another advantage and I am going to share the secret with you.
(Read the article)

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I have been asked to write a topic on how to hit a Slam and how to hit a Black Slam.
You have to be like this guy. Extremely focused, concentrate hard and…
HELP.

I am not an expert Carrom player. I played much more when I was younger. I write and help maintain this site to promote Carrom.

Dane terrior wrote “On the break, if break is good then you can hit the slam, if break is bad, then black slam.

Thanks Dane terrior, but I am none the wiser. Please excuse my ignorance. Can you explain a bit more. Thanks.

Any advice or explanation would be greatly appreciated.

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The basics of carrom
Well, now that I am 15 posts in I figure it’s a good time to post a bit of info explaining what carrom is (might have been wise to start with this one huh?)

So here we go (for those that don’t know)
Carrom is a wooden board game played by 2- 4 players popular in Asia and the Far East. This traditional game is similar to pool, snooker and billiards in many ways (except the pieces are flat and there are no cues) and is gaining in popularity across Europe and the US.

Carrom is played on a sqaure wooden board (see picture below) with 4 pockets in the corners for “potting” your piece.

As I mentioned, Carrom Rules are very similar to pool (many say that carrom is the predecessor to many ‘bar games” such as pool, billiards and snooker) and played with 9 pieces on each side.

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Have a look at this video.
Divya is definitely Champion material.
Maybe not Carrom, but she’d make a great politician.
Then again she’s too pretty and admits to cheating. So maybe not.
The video is here

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Well, you could just play in a field… but we figured we’d give you a few better suggestions than that:

Here are a few tips to get a Carrom club started near you.
1 Ask in your local pub if you can hold a match there on a night that is usually quiet. Make sure to bring a few friends, not rent-a-crowd, and encourage any regulars to join in. It makes a change from Karaoke and quizzes. It’s a good idea to take a board along beforehand, and show the landlord/lady and remind them also that Carrom players and spectators do get thirsty.
2 You could also try community centres and colleges.
3 What about a lunchtime club at work?
(Read the article)

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A happy and healthy new year to all you Carrom fans and also to any poor souls who have not played Carrom before.

Maybe this will be your lucky year. Well it will be if you got a Carrom board this holiday. Carrom boards have sold well in the lead up to Christmas. Although not yet up to the 4 million Wiis Nintendo have sold in the past month it is encouraging that Carrom is growing in popularity.

What is a Wii?

Is it as much fun as a game of Carrom with your mates? Opinions please.
(Read the article)

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The Strike or Break as in snooker, pool etc. is a very important part of the game.

Different players adopt different strategies.

Some players send a striker careering into the Carrommen to scatter them and hope they pocket some.

Others take a back road and ricochot the striker off the opposite side of the frame, then into the Carrommen.

Some play off 2 sides, hitting the frame on the left or right, then onto the side opposite them, then onto the Carrommen. 

Here’s a nice little break caught on video:
(Read the article)

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Yesterday I advised you to sit straight when playing Carrom.

However today I read that sitting up straight can be bad for you. According to researchers from the University of Alberta in Canada it could lead to back problems. The best sitting position is a 135-degree recline.

Thing is I am not much good at angles but it seems that if I sat in that position I’d just keep falling back.

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