Carrom is the game of the corner shop and the family living room across South Asia, and it is far harder than it looks. You flick a striker across a powdered wooden board and try to sink nine coins of your colour before your opponent sinks theirs.

Carrom Jim reproduces the physics rather than approximating them. Coins collide, spin, rebound off the cushions and clump in the corners the same way they do on a real board, which means the trick shots you know from the physical game still work here.

How a frame works

• Drag back from the striker to aim, and pull further for more power.
• Pocket a coin of your colour and you keep the turn.
• Miss, or pocket the striker itself, and you hand over the turn and pay a penalty coin.
• The red queen must be covered by pocketing one of your own coins immediately afterwards, or she goes back to the centre.
• Clear all your coins, with the queen properly covered, to take the frame.

Getting better at it

Beginners aim straight at the coin they want. Experienced players aim at the point on the coin that sends it where they need it, which is rarely the middle. Angling a shot so the coin drifts toward a pocket rather than slamming at it also leaves the board tidier for your next turn.

The other thing worth learning is restraint with the queen. Taking her early feels like an achievement, but if you cannot cover her you have simply given your opponent a free shot at a board you have opened up.

Ways to play

• One against one online, matched with players around the world.
• Offline against computer opponents that actually use angles.
• Classic rules, or freestyle scoring where each coin is worth its own value.

Frames are short, so it fits into a break rather than demanding an evening.