Carrom Board Setting: How to Arrange the Coins, Step by Step

Every game of carrom starts with the same setting: nineteen coins packed into a tight circle in the middle of the board. Set them up properly and the break is fair. Set them up loosely and the first shot scatters them in ways nobody can control.

Here is how to arrange carrom coins step by step, with a diagram, the official board size and a quick guide to points.

What you need

• A carrom board with four corner pockets.
• Nineteen coins: nine white, nine black and one red queen.
• A striker, larger and heavier than the coins.
• A little carrom powder, so the coins glide.

The coins are also called carrom men, and in India they are often called goti. The striker is not one of the nineteen. It is the piece you flick, not a piece you try to pocket.

How to arrange the coins

The setting builds outwards from the centre of the board, one ring at a time.

• The queen. Put the red queen in the small circle at the exact centre of the board.
• The inner ring. Place six coins around the queen, all touching her, alternating white and black.
• The outer ring. Place the other twelve coins around the inner ring, again alternating white and black. Line them up so each white coin in the inner ring has a white coin straight behind it. The whites then make a Y shape running out from the queen.

When you are done, every coin should touch its neighbours, and the whole group should sit inside the large circle printed around the centre. If there are gaps, push the coins in gently from the outside until the group is tight.

Which way the setting faces

The white Y is not just decoration. Turn the whole group so that one arm of the Y points straight at the player who breaks. The other two arms then point towards the far corner pockets.

The player who breaks plays white, so the white coins face the player who will hit them first. In doubles, the breaker's partner, sitting opposite, plays white too.

Who breaks first

A toss decides who breaks. The breaker plays white and the other player plays black, and in a longer match the break usually alternates from board to board. The break is played from the breaker's own baseline, like any other shot.

Common setting mistakes

• Loose coins. Gaps in the circle make the break unpredictable, and one player can end up with an easy first shot.
• The queen off centre. She has to sit in the centre circle, not just somewhere in the middle.
• The Y facing the wrong way. If the white Y points away from the breaker, turn the whole group round rather than moving coins one by one.
• Too much powder. A light dusting is enough. Too much and the coins slide too far and the striker becomes hard to control.

Official carrom board size

Boards at home come in many sizes, but tournament boards follow the laws of the International Carrom Federation. These are the main measurements.

• Playing surface: 74 cm by 74 cm, about 29 inches square, with a little tolerance down to 73.5 cm.
• Frame: 6.35 to 7.6 cm wide, which makes the whole board about 87 to 89 cm, or 34 to 35 inches, across.
• Pockets: 4.45 cm across, one in each corner.
• Centre circle: 3.18 cm across. This is where the queen sits.
• Outer circle: 17 cm across. The whole setting has to fit inside it.
• Base lines: two parallel lines on each side, 47 cm long, with a base circle at each end.
• Coins: 3.02 to 3.18 cm across, weighing 5 to 5.5 grams each.
• Striker: no more than 4.13 cm across and 15 grams.

Shop listings usually give a board's overall size, frame included. If you want a tournament-size board, check that the playing surface itself is 74 cm, or 29 inches. Smaller boards are fine for casual games.

On a stand, a tournament board sits 63 to 70 cm off the floor, which puts it at a comfortable height for players on ordinary chairs.

How carrom points work

Once the board is set and the game is under way, the points are simple.

• The player who clears all their coins first wins the board.
• The winner scores one point for every coin the opponent still has on the board.
• A covered queen adds three points, but only for the player who wins the board, and only until that player passes 21 points.
• The most a single board can score is twelve: nine coins plus the queen.
• A game goes to 25 points, or to whoever leads after eight boards.

There is a full guide to carrom rules for beginners if you want the fouls, the queen and the scoring in more detail.

Practise without a board

Carrom Jim sets the board up for you, so you can go straight to the break. The physics behave like a real board, so the angles you learn carry over, and it runs in your browser with no download.

Frequently asked questions

How many coins are there in carrom?

Nineteen: nine white, nine black and one red queen. The striker is extra and is not counted as a coin.

How do you arrange carrom coins?

Put the queen in the centre circle, six coins around her alternating white and black, and the other twelve in an outer ring, again alternating, with the whites forming a Y. Every coin touches its neighbours, and the group fits inside the outer circle.

Which colour faces the breaker in carrom?

White. The player who breaks plays white, and the setting is turned so one arm of the white Y points straight at them.

What is the standard size of a carrom board?

The official playing surface is 74 cm, or 29 inches, square. With a frame 6.35 to 7.6 cm wide, the whole board is about 87 to 89 cm across.

How many points is the queen worth in carrom?

Three points, if you cover her and then win the board. The queen stops counting once a player has passed 21 points.