Tic Tac Man? No, it’s just Skip communicating with his team. He will use various signals to inform the team of the situation at his end of the court and to give instructions on what must be done to win the shots. This may seem intriguing and incomprehensible to the outsider!

To win a game of pétanque, the team has to work as a unit and each player has a particular role. A team game can be in pairs, triples or fours, the latter being a very common way in which each player has 2 bowling pins to play. The Skip is in charge and is at the opposite end of the court from the rest of the team. The first to play is the leader, whose job is to throw the little white ball (called the jack) to the length indicated by the jump. Everyone else now has to get up close to this cat or place their bowls in strategic positions to try and make sure their side wins the points. Hopefully the leader can bring their bowls closer to the cat and then step back to allow number 2 to play. If the leader has the shot (that is, his bowl is closer to the cat than the opponent’s), then number 2 should try to protect him and add more bowls near him. If the leader has not been able to get a shot, the number 2 should try. This all sounds simple and straightforward enough, but you have to keep in mind that the bowls don’t travel in a straight line. They have a “skew”, which means they take a curved route. Different bowls have different biases and routes and while players know what their bowls are supposed to do, it doesn’t always work that way for various reasons, such as if the delivery angle is not quite correct; if a gust of wind blows or if you find yourself playing on rough terrain that is not as smooth as you expected and the bowl is bouncing happily in its own direction.

Now it is the turn of number 3, who is usually a fairly experienced player; It must be, as there are now 8 bocce balls on the court, in various places and usually on the road. She has to be guided by the Skip as to the best line to the cat and if she has to go for the shot; protect it; knock out an opponent’s bowl or place a strategic bowl for defense. Distances and angles are distorted when viewed from the other end and this is more complicated than it sounds. Number 3 will often play with a bowl that has a broader bias than those the Leader and Number 2 play with due to the need to circumvent the bowls to get to the point indicated by the Leap. Ultimately, it’s up to the Skip to consolidate the shots held or save the day by pushing through all the bowls and winning shots. It is not an easy job and it can feel like a lot of pressure when you have to try to do all the things that the rest of your team may have found impossible; it can’t help when you hear the players say “Well, leave it up to the jump” on the assumption that one person can rectify everyone else’s mistakes. Like Number 3, a Skip needs to play with a bowl that has a wider bias to get around any obstacles. However, a Skip often has to negotiate a route through these bowls as well, and therefore needs skill in manipulating his bowl in order to accomplish this task. A Number 3 and a Skip can also be called to ‘fire’, that is, send a bowl hurtling down the middle of the track to hit any shot or just open it all up.

Far from being a boring game of the old nebulae, bowling can be very exciting. Try to watch a game played by the under-25s and this is particularly evident. It is also a game where gender and age make little difference. Ladies can give men a good run for their money and 80’s can beat 25’s! Compared to many sports such as golf and tennis, it is also relatively inexpensive to participate.