Carrom Flick
Flick your striker, pocket your coins and the queen first. Best of 3.
Carrom Flick is a two-player carrom board game in which each player flicks a striker from their own edge to pocket their coins, white for Red and black for Blue. Clear all nine of your coins first to win the board.
Slide the striker along your edge, pull back as the power ring grows, let go and hear the wooden clack as the coins scatter. Pocket one of yours and you go again, so a hot streak feels like a run of snooker.
Also known as Carrom, Carrom board, Karrom.
- How you hold it
- Face-off
- Match
- Best of 3
- Length
- About 3 to 6 minutes a board
- Play
- Friend or bot
How to play Carrom Flick: quick rules
About 3 to 6 minutes a board; about 8 to 12 minutes for best of 3. Full rules, options and bot levels are further down.
- 1Red plays white coins and Blue plays black, each from their own edge.
- 2Slide your striker along your line, pull back and let go.
- 3Pocket your coin to shoot again, but pocket the striker and a coin goes back.
- 4Pocket the queen, then pocket one of your coins on the next shot to keep it.
- 5Clear your nine coins to win a board, and win two boards to take the match.
Carrom Flick rules
Setup
- A simplified Indian carrom: nine white coins, nine black coins and the red queen in the middle, laid out so both sides start with an equal position.
- Red always plays white and Blue always plays black. Each shoots from the baseline on their own edge.
- A coin flip picks who breaks the first board in a new match; on a rematch, the player who lost breaks. The other player breaks board 2, and the first breaker breaks board 3.
- A countdown runs before each board, not before each shot.
Shots and turns
- Place the striker anywhere free on your baseline, then pull back and let go. The shot has to go forward; aim backwards and letting go just cancels it.
- Pocket one of your own coins and you shoot again. Otherwise the turn passes, and a shot that hits nothing is still a legal shot.
- An opponent's coin that you pocket counts for them.
- Several pieces can drop on one shot, and they all count.
The queen
- Either player can pocket the queen at any time, but you must cover her: pocket one of your own coins on the same shot or the very next one.
- Cover her and she is yours (“Queen covered!”). Fail and she goes back to the middle of the board (“Queen back”), and the turn passes.
- Nobody can win a board while the queen is still on the board or waiting to be covered. A last coin pocketed before she is covered goes back.
Fouls
- Pocketing the striker is a foul, and the only one. Your turn ends and one of the coins you had already pocketed goes back to the middle of the board. If you hadn't pocketed any, nothing goes back.
- A foul also sends back a queen you were covering, and a fouling shot can never finish a board.
Winning
- Clear all nine of your coins, with the queen covered by either player, to win the board. Pocket your rival's last coin and you hand them the board.
- The board banner shows points: one for each of the loser's coins left, plus three if the winner covered the queen. Points are for show; boards decide the match.
- After 40 shots in a row with nothing pocketed, the player with more coins wins the board; if they are level, the next coin pocketed decides it.
- A match has a time limit, with a “3 minutes left” warning. At the limit, the leader wins: more boards, then more points on the current board, then a coin toss. There is no draw.
Match length
- Best of 3 boards
- First to win two boards takes the match. The default.
- 1 board
- One board decides it, for a shorter game.
Tips to win at Carrom Flick
- 1Slide the striker along your baseline to find a straight line to a coin near a pocket before you think about power.
- 2Use soft shots for coins sitting close to a pocket. Too much power sends the striker in after them, and that foul costs you a coin.
- 3Go for the queen when you also have an easy coin lined up to cover her on the next shot.
- 4Don't leave your rival's coins sitting near the pockets, and avoid knocking their coins into easy spots.
- 5Pocket your own coin and you shoot again, so clear the easy ones first to build a run.
Where Carrom Flick comes from
Carrom is thought to have originated in South Asia, most likely India, where it has been played for well over a century in homes and clubs. It spread across the region and beyond, and international rules are now kept by the International Carrom Federation, founded in 1988.
Controls
Phone flat between you. Each player owns a half, and the far half faces the far player.
- Touch the band along your baseline and slide: the striker follows your finger. A tap in the band moves it there.
- Touch the striker and pull back like a slingshot. The power ring and a “Power” chip grow with the pull, and the shot goes the opposite way.
- Only the player whose turn it is can touch, and only the first finger counts. A tiny pull is cancelled and you keep your turn.
- Blue's controls work from Blue's own side of the board.
Options
Every option is free. Defaults are marked.
| Option | Choices | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Boards | 3 (default)1 | Best of 3 boards, or a single board. |
| Aim line | On (default)Off | Off hides the short line that shows the shot's direction, for a harder game; the power ring stays. |
Play Carrom Flick against the bot
The bot plays Blue and tries out shots with the same physics you play with, then takes the best one with a human slip in its aim and power. It sees only what you can see, and you can watch it slide and pull before it shoots.
Easy
Often aims at coins it can't pocket, forgets about the queen and misjudges power.
Normal
Pockets easy coins reliably, but leaves coins near the pockets for you.
Hard
Plans how to cover the queen and thinks about what it leaves you, but its aim is never perfect.
Online, tournaments and hints
- Online
- One phone onlyCarrom Flick plays on one phone; online play is for Tic Tac Toe and 4 in a Row today.
- Tournament
- Can be drawn in a tournamentIn a tournament it is played as a single board, with the aim line on, whatever your saved options.
- Hints
- No hints here: it's all about your own reactions.
Coming soon
- Shot timer. An optional time limit for each shot, off by default. When it runs out, the turn passes with no foul.
- Screen reader aiming. An alternative way to aim for screen reader users: pick a target, then confirm.
How it feels
- A creak that tightens as you pull, with a light tick at each quarter of power.
- A sharp wooden clack on release, and clacks between coins that change with the speed of the hit.
- A rattle as a coin drops, the pocket glowing in your colour, and “In! Go again”.
- A bell for the queen, a bright chime when she is covered, and a low thud for a foul.
Accessibility
- White coins have rings, black coins have dots and the queen has a star, so they can be told apart without colour.
- Whose turn it is shows in words, on the player's pill and on a glowing baseline.
- With reduced motion, sparks and dust become a simple fade; the aim line and power ring stay.
- A screen reader announces turns, pocketed coins, fouls and the queen, but the aim gesture can't be played with one.
Carrom Flick questions
The queen is the red coin in the middle of the board. Either player can pocket her, but you must cover her by pocketing one of your own coins on the same shot or the next one, or she goes back to the middle.
It's a foul. Your turn ends and one of the coins you've already pocketed goes back to the middle of the board.
No. Boards decide the match, and if the time limit is reached the leader wins on boards, then points, then a coin toss.
Yes. Carrom Flick in Duo Clash is built for two players on the same phone. Phone flat between you. Each player owns a half, and the far half faces the far player.
Yes. The bot plays Blue and tries out shots with the same physics you play with, then takes the best one with a human slip in its aim and power. Choose Easy, Normal or Hard.
No. Carrom Flick plays on one phone; online play is for Tic Tac Toe and 4 in a Row today.
Play Carrom Flick on one phone
Free on Android. Sit face to face, or take on the bot on Easy, Normal or Hard.
