Carrom is a game loved by people worldwide and has fans spread everywhere. The game is
simple and lets you enjoy it properly with the least equipment required to play it.
All you need to do to play a carrom game is get a board and the necessary coins, and you
will be all set to have your unique carrom experience. Many online apps for the fun of
Carrom have come out, making it easier to play whenever you get the time. Nowadays, you can download the carrom game app on your device and play it anywhere with various global
rivals.
The game’s history is as good as the gameplay and undoubtedly stands as a story to be told. Let’s check out the game’s history and how it came into existence and is accepted today in the modern world.
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Cavemen
Depictions of people playing with stones and aiming them at the ground have been found
across several ancient world caves without any name or symbol representing the practice.
Modern carrom played similarly found its roots in these early practices of nomads who took part in such fidgeting exercises when they were bored. The concept of the board was not a thing back then, but they drew areas on the floor of their shelter to give it structure and a boundary, which led to the making of an activity that would help them kill some free time when they were off hunting and secure from any predators.
Indian Maharajas
The main game of Carrom was invented in the 18th century by Indian maharajas and has
since become a part of a common cultural practice worldwide. The kings spent their time
lavishly playing this game in their off hours, and it was a matter of huge celebration in the
courtroom across the nation. The royalty used expensive stones in the earlier days of
Carrom, and this game was not in the hands of the common masses until then, as the notion was only blue blood could play the game that was men of the same stature. In the town of
Patiala, there are boards made of glass from which you can understand that this game was
widely played throughout the subcontinent and in the royal courts.
A common rumor is that the game was invented to impress visiting British officials in the Indian subcontinent so they would be impressed and praise the intellectual skills and habits of eastern people.
Origin of the Name
The game invented in Southeast Asia traveled through the Portuguese and main areas of
Europe and found several names. Carrom was also the name of the star fruit from which the
present name is a derivation, and the idea carried on.
Carrom was also called karum or karom, fatta, which is widely used in the Punjabi dialect. It
was also named finger billiards in some places to acknowledge its similarity with the other game.
History With Billiards
Carrom is also widely associated with the game of billiards as it has many similarities in
terms of pocketing tokens into the pockets using another token. Many people thought
billiards came first, and Carrom could only take after it as the previous game required a
much more prominent place to play and wasn’t quite handy. Billiards was initially played on the lawn, and a long stick was used to push the balls into rings on the ground. The smaller Carrom uses a striker and fingers to be played, but the idea remains the same, along with some rules.
International Carrom Game
The game of Carrom took its place in international sports in the year of 1988 in India. The
rules that make up the game were made and published in the same year by the
tournament’s authoritative body. The game then later made its way to Pakistan and
eventually to Kuwait and other places that showed interest in the style of the game and its
fast format of play. The Indian diaspora led to the formation of the game in Europe, and the public accepted it and slowly made its way into other parts of the world through word of
mouth, and carrom boards soon became a popular board game product.
Online Carrom
After the introduction of digital devices, many games have been adapted into online versions
to cater to audiences more widely. Carrom found a spot amid this and gained a fantastic
adaptation that people could enjoy. On Android and iOS devices, playing Carrom online is a popular activity. You can play the game easily by downloading an app and learning how to
control and shoot the striker on the board using intuitive controls that let you do it with a
single finger. You can even find online rivals to play at any moment, and they are quite
challenging and will only improve your style of playing Carrom.
This style of Carrom became popular during the lockdown of COVID and was seen as the
best way to be connected with people when everyone felt isolated and locked into their
homes due to social distancing.
Final Words
The game of Carrom, though, comes in a few hundred years after Ludo has significantly
impacted people’s lives worldwide. The exact details pinpointing its origin are still shrouded
in a certain form of mystery, but it majorly leads down to the southern part of India, mainly in
the Sri Lankan area. As time passes, more knowledge of the game needs to be extracted to
cement its place in history among the greatest board games ever played.