Boules

Family of French bowling sports — boule lyonnaise, boule de fort and pétanque are the main variants.

👥1 per team🌤outdoor
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What is Boules?

Boules is the collective name for a family of French bowling sports played on gravel, packed earth or purpose-built strips. The main variants are boule lyonnaise, boule de fort (Anjou), jeu provençal and pétanque. All share the same basic aim — finish closest to the target — with distinctive stance, movement and equipment rules.

Quick facts

Category

Precision Sports

Type

Individual

Players

1 per team

Where played

outdoor

Country of origin

🇫🇷 France

Estimated origin

Ancient Mediterranean; formal codification 19th–20th century France

Olympic

No

Popularity

major

Sources & provenance

Last verified 2026-08-20.verified