Standard rules and regulations OF CARRAM BOARD

The ICF promulgates International Rules of Carrom (also termed "The Laws of Carrom") ICF acts as the governing body of carrom. The organisation also ranks players, sanctions tournaments and presents awards. ICF has many national affiliates such as the All-India Carrom Federation, Australian Carrom Federation, and United States Carrom Association.

The toss

Order of play is determined by the process of "calling the carrom men" or "the toss". Before commencing each match, an umpire hides one black and one white carrom man in his hands. The players must guess which color carrom men are being held in each hand. The player who guesses correctly wins the toss.

The winner of the toss must either choose to strike first or to change sides (from white to black) and give up the opening break. No option to pass this decision to the other player is available. If the player chooses to strike, the loser can change sides, but if the winner chooses to change sides the loser must strike first. The player taking the first shot (or break) gets to play white. The opponent plays black.

Shooting

The aim of the game is to pot (or pocket) one's nine carrom men and the Queen before your opponent. A successful pot entitles the player to shoot again. This means that, like pool and snooker, a player may pot all his pieces and cover the Queen from the break without his opponent being given the chance to shoot. Any player pocketing the Queen is required to cover it by immediately pocketing one of their carrom man on the entitlement shot. If after potting the Queen the player fails to cover it then the Queen is returned to the center of the table. It is illegal to pot the Queen after the last piece since the Queen must always be covered. The player is allowed to shoot with any finger, excluding the thumb (known as "thumbing" or a "thumb shot" or a "thumb hit").

Crossing the diagonal lines on the board by coming in touch with it, or pocketing the striker is a foul. A player needs to ensure that his striking hand does not infringe/cross the diagonal lines aerially/physically. A player committing a foul must return one carrom man that was already pocketed. If a player pockets his striker, he has to pay a penalty. This penalty is usually 10 points.