It’s a known fact that the red queen, or ‘Rani’ as we all know it, is the most crucial piece in the carrom board game. Whenever you play carrom indoors on a physical board or online, you will always have your eyes on the red coin. Pocketing the carrom men is important, but covering the queen seems to be the most crucial part of the game as you get a lot of points for the queen.
Even in movies, when the carrom game is played, the queen piece steals the limelight as the players are all behind pocketing and covering the queen. Covering the queen successfully in a single shot is a matter of pride. When you cover the queen, you have won half the battle. In fact, a player’s success in carrom is often determined by how quickly that player secures the queen.
Did you ever think about why the red queen is so important in carrom and what’s the relevance of the red coin in the game? Well, we have it all answered for you! If you love playing carrom, you ought to know the importance and relevance of the queen and the carrom rules to pocket the queen.
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What is Queen in Carrom?
When you play professional carrom, you will find the white carrom men, black carrom men, and a red coin at the center of the carrom board. The red coin is known as the Queen or Rani and is the most valuable piece in the game.
According to the International Carrom rules, the queen carries three points, and the other carrom men carry one point each. However, in some of the variations played informally in Indian households, the players add 5 points to the queen. Some informal matches also have carrom rules that give 10 points for each black carrom man, 20 points for white carrom men, and 50 points for the queen.
To win a carrom board game, the player must get the maximum points before the opponent. Therefore, the players attempt to pocket maximum coins and the red coin to score higher points. Pocketing the queen earlier can be a game-changer as it increases the chances of winning the game.
For instance, in a freestyle carrom game, when you pocket the queen with a white carrom man, you score 50+20 points. Similarly, covering the queen with a black carrom man gives you 50+10 points.
Rules For Queen in Carrom
There are various carrom queen rules for pocketing the queen in the carrom board game. When you play carrom, keep these rules in mind to gain more points.
How to Pocket the Queen in Carrom?
When the carrom board game begins, the red coin is placed at the center of the board with all the other carrom men surrounding it. Here’s how you can pocket the queen while playing carrom:
- You must pocket at least one piece of the color assigned to you and then pocket the queen. Cover the queen with another piece of the color assigned to you.
- If you pocket the red coin without pocketing an assigned piece, you will get another turn to pocket a piece before you can cover the queen.
- If you fail to pocket a piece after pocketing the queen, the queen is returned to the center of the board, and you lose a turn.
Carrom Rules for Queen During the Break Shot
Break shot or breaking is the first shot in a game of carrom. The player that begins the carrom board game plays the break shot by striking the circle made with carrom men and queen at the center of the board.
If a player pockets the queen in the break shot, that player must pocket one assigned coin first and then pocket another coin to cover the queen. If the player fails to pocket the first coin or the second coin as a queen cover, the queen is returned to the center of the board.
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Carrom Rules for Queen After a Penalty
In a carrom game, if you pocket a striker, you have to return a coin to the center of the board. However, the queen piece plays a role if you have no coins in hand.
- If you have no pocketed coins to return as a penalty, you continue to owe the penalty until you pocket a coin. If you pocket a queen in such a situation, the queen is taken as the penalty to place again in the center.
- After the penalty owed has been recovered, and all the coins are on the board, you can pocket the queen along with its cover.
Carrom Rules if You Pocket the Queen with a Carrom Man
In the situation when you pocket the striker, the queen, and a coin together, here are the rules that will apply:
- If you pocket a coin and a queen with a proper stroke, these coins are taken back for placing on the board. You can play your turn, but you will have to pay the penalty.
- You will have to pay two penalties with two coins if you pocket a coin, a queen, and a striker by an improper stroke. The queen and coin pocketed will be placed back on the carrom board, and you will also lose your turn.
- If you pot a striker by a proper stroke while pocketing a queen cover, you will have to place the queen at the center of the table. You will also owe one coin as a penalty and will lose your turn.
- If you pot a striker by an improper stroke while pocketing a queen cover, you will owe a penalty of two coins. The queen will be returned to the board, and you lose your turn.
Carrom Rules for Queen and Last Coin
In the situation when you pocket the red coin, the last coin (whether yours or the opponent’s piece), and/or the striker, the rules applied are as follows:
Pocketing the opponent’s coin
if you pocket the opponent’s last coin while covering the red coin, you will lose the points for the queen and the board by the number of coins on the board. However, your points for the red coin will not be deducted if the opponent’s points are 22 or above. For an improper stroker, the opponent can demand an additional point.
Pocketing opponent’s last coin when the red coin is on the board
If a player pockets the opponent’s last coin when the red coin is on the board, they lose the queen and the round by the number of coins on the board.
Pocketing opponent’s last coin, your coin, and queen together
If a player pockets their last coin along with the red coin and the opponent’s last coin by a proper stroke, the player wins the round by 3 points. However, the player wins by one point only if the score is 22 or more.
If the same situation occurs with an improper stroke, the opponent will win by 3 points (or 1 point if the score is 22 or above). One additional point can be demanded by the opponent for an improper stroke.
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Pocketing opponent’s last coin and your coin when the red coin is on the board
If a player pockets their last coin along with the opponent’s last coin when the queen is on the board, the opponent gets 3 points and can demand an extra point if the strike was improper.
Pocketing your last coin when the queen is on the board
If a player pockets their last coin when the red coin is on the board, they lose the round by 3 points if the score is below 22. In case of an improper stroker, the opponent can demand an extra point.
Pocketing the striker and your last coin together when the queen is on the board
In such a situation, you lose by three points (1 point if the opponent’s score is 22 or more). The opponent can claim 2 extra points for an improper stroke.
Pocketing your coin along with the striker, the queen, and the opponent’s last coin
In this case, you will lose by three points (1 point if the opponent’s score is 22 or more). The opponent can claim 1 extra point for the striker and 2 extra points for an improper stroke.
Pocketing your coin, the striker, and the opponent’s last coin with queen covered earlier
If you had covered the queen, you lose one point in this case, and the opponent can claim one extra point for the striker and two extra points for an improper stroker.
If the opponent had covered the queen, you lose 3 points, and the opponent can claim one extra point for striker and two for improper stroke.
Pocketing the striker along with the opponent’s last coin with the queen on the board
In this case, you lose by the value of your coins on the board and the value of queen. Only the number of coins is deducted if the score is 22 or above. The opponent can claim one extra point for the striker and 2 extra points for an improper stroke.
The red coin falls into a pocket
If the queen falls into a pocket accidentally, it is considered pocketed, and the player must cover it with another coin.
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Conclusion
There’s no doubt that the red coin is the most valuable piece in carrom. As soon as a player plays a break shot, all the players begin chasing the queen to secure it quickly and have the upper hand in the game. With every player chasing the queen, the game gets more thrilling and full of excitement. However, keeping the above carrom queen rules in mind each time you play the carrom board game online or on the physical board can help you cover the queen more efficiently.
