Carrom is one of the best board games played in India throughout every household. The game most certainly preserves the country’s culture and has a heavy hand to play in the childhood memories of every Indian child.
In modern times the game has garnered a huge audience in the online realm as players are incredibly drawn into the pocket-friendly format of the somewhat large Indian board game. Players can now spend time on the app lucratively by earning money on defeating rivals they come across in multiplayer form.
To get your version of the carrom online cash game, you must find the right one that suits your playstyle and download it on your mobile device so you can enjoy carrom with your playmates.
Recently, the game has become incredibly modern and advanced for the new generation of players. Let’s take a break to go back in time and see how the game came into existence and evolved through the years.
Table of Contents
What is The Game?
In carrom, you have a medium-sized playing board where you can play with as many as 4 players. You are given black and white tokens, 9 each, and a single red token called the queen, which has the most points to its name.
Players can team up to play the game or face each other individually. You are provided a striker to hit the tokens, similar to the billiards game where you use a cue ball.
The game requires an idea of marksmanship and focus. It relies on the player’s skill of fingers to decide on the final winner. Carrom tournaments are held worldwide and call forth a considerable large audience to the game.
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History in India
Games in the Indian subcontinent have a very clouded history, but like most games, carrom is found to have its birth in the 18th century deep inside the subcontinent of India.
In common folklore, there is a notion that this game was played in the streets, got noticed by the Maharajas, and quickly adapted to the courtroom style.
The integrity of the fact that this game was played commonly in the palaces comes from the places in Patiala where there are structures of a glass-topped carrom board in certain rooms of their historical monuments.
The Portuguese Connect
Recently, a connection to the land of Portugal has emerged into the limelight. The record in history books attributes the name of ‘karom’ as an invention of the people from Portugal.
Interestingly, there are no recorded artifacts that tell the game was Portuguese but only history books that speak of the name carrom. In a way, the history in Portugal states that they coined the word carrom.
Link to Billiards
The Carrom game has a mark of royalty to it. The game was created along with the likes of Billiards and snooker. The royals played billiards on their wide lawns over an area that was completely covered in grass.
The glass top in carrom was an inclusion by the royals in India who wanted to impress the British colonials with the game. They were even successful in doing so. The Britishers also fell in love with the game, enjoyed it quite well with their other officials, and popularized it back in their motherland.
Use of Ivory and French Chalk
Initially, during the time of the maharajas, the game exclusively became a part of royalty and started to be played on tables carved out of rare wood and glass. The striker and the tokens are polished forms of pure ivory.
Sticking to the royalty of the game, the boards started to get dusted with chalk imported from France to make them more frictionless and the game fluid. The game slowly entered the common masses and became easily accessible to the common people by getting cheaper, affordable materials to build the set.
The modern-day carrom board is completely made of wood and reasonably sized. The pieces are, in maximum cases, made of regular polished wood or tough-grade fiber that local players can afford.
Adaptability in the Modern World
The reason for the survival of this game is its adherence to changing times and modern ways. The contemporary world of carrom looks only brighter with the newer generation readily liking the game and taking a fondness towards it.
The game can be accommodated in a smaller area and also played by people who might have any form of physical disability, which could restrict them from other activity-based sports.
The signs of this new form of carrom entered the world when computers emerged into existence. Now in times of complete digital takeover, developers have made drastic changes in the game to make it easier for players to enjoy and get entertained. The online carrom games have a perfect layout representing the classic game in every manner.
There are innumerable apps you can play the game on and many new modes that are quite exciting to play without venting too much of your energy or time. These games can be played anywhere on the go, and you can get challenging rivals anytime you please on the world wide web.
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Final Words
The humble game of carrom has come a long way since its ancient existence. It has evolved as the times wanted it to while staying loyal to its roots. The flexibility of carrom makes it one of the longest-lasting games in the history of board games.
It continues to serve as the best form of entertainment in the players’ lives and promises to keep doing so in the future.
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