If you hang around the towns of southern France, eventually you’ll run into a game of pétanque, also called boules. It’s played in parks, or often, on small hard plots outside the local bar. (This facilitates the frequent accompaniment of a glass of Pernod–and the the usual bet on the game: another Pernod.) The game is simple. The first player throws out a small wooden object ball, called the cochonnet or “little pig,” and follows by throwing one of his boules as close to the little pig as he can. The rest of the players throw their boules, which are about the size of a baseball and made out of steel, until one of them is closer to the cochonnet than the first player. The game continues like this until all boules have been thrown. You score one point for each of your boules which ends up closer than your opponent’s closest ball. Play until one side get to 13.
Unlike the Italian bocce ball or the English lawn bowling, pétanque requires no “court.” Any area of sufficient (about 12 by 30 feet) size will do just fine.
The balls weigh about 28 ounces (800 grams). They are typically thrown with the palm facing down, the better to impart a backspin which limits the ball’s roll. Also strict rules say the feet must be together when the ball is thrown. In fact, the name pétanque comes from Provençal words meaning “feet together.”
The best boules are, of course, French. You can buy plenty of cheap varieties, but the ones you’ll see most in France, and the ones we’ve used here for more than twenty years, are made by Obut. They’re available through www.petanqueamerica.com.
In case you’ve always relied on just few friends to recommend new music, you might want to expand your list of friends. 
are highly recommended. If you don’t have a woman who’d appreciate this mag, reading it yourself couldn’t hurt your search for one. You’ll be happy you did.
