Carrom is not one game. The same board is used for several, and each scores differently. This guide explains two of the five games in Carrom by 22Softwares: the 29 Game and Tal Gach. Knowing the scoring changes how you play, because it tells you which coins are worth the risk.
Rules vary between clubs. These are the rules used in Carrom by 22Softwares.
The 29 Game: points for what is left on the board
In the 29 Game, a board ends when one side has potted all 9 of its coins and the queen has been covered. Clearing your opponent’s coins for them, once the queen is covered, hands them the board. The winner of that board scores points for the opponent’s coins still on the board: one point for each, so at most 9. If the winner covered the queen, they also get 5 points for it, so at most 14 points on one board. The queen’s 5 points are not added once the winning side is already above 23 points.
The first side to 29 wins the game. A game takes at least three boards, because one board is worth at most 14 (and the queen’s 5 are not counted once the winners have more than 23).
What this means for tactics in the 29 Game
- Each coin left on the board is a point for your opponent, so finishing your coins matters more than any single pot.
- The queen is worth 5 to the side that covers it and wins the board, so it is worth going for when you have a cover ready.
- Late in the game the scoring changes the value of the queen. If you are already above 23, the queen’s extra points are not added.
- The red queen cannot be your first piece: potted before any of your coins, it does not count, your turn goes on, and the queen goes back to the centre when your turn ends.
- If you pot your last coin while the queen is still on the board, that coin is held and you play on for the queen: pot it and the coin comes back to the centre to cover it with; miss, and the coin comes back and the turn passes.
Tal Gach: every piece has a value
Tal Gach is a tower game. The coins start stacked in a tower in the centre and the first stroke is a break that scatters it. There are 19 pieces, and every one has a value: each of the 9 white coins is worth 20 points, each of the 9 black coins is worth 10 points, and the queen is worth 50.
The total is 9 × 20 + 9 × 10 + 50 = 320 points. That means 170 is more than half, so the first player to reach 170 cannot be overtaken. If the board is cleared before anyone reaches 170 (only possible with a 160–160 split), the higher score wins, and the side that cleared it takes a tie.
What this means for tactics in Tal Gach
- Any pot keeps your turn, so a good break that leaves several pieces open is worth more than a clever single shot.
- White coins are worth twice as much as black coins. Prefer a white coin when the shot is equally easy.
- The queen scores 50 the moment it drops: no cover is needed.
- Once you are close to 170, avoid fouls: a foul voids that stroke’s pots and passes the turn (it never takes points you already have).
The Tal Gach break
The break is the most important shot of the game. A full, straight hit scatters the tower across the board. A softer hit topples it whole, so the pieces fall close together. A stroke that pots anything keeps your turn; one that pots nothing passes it.
Which game should I learn first?
Disc Pool is the gentlest start (no queen, forgiving fouls). Classic teaches the queen cover, and then the 29 Game and Tal Gach add their own scoring.
Quick comparison
- 29 Game: win by being first to 29 points, over at least three boards. A board is worth up to 14 points.
- Tal Gach: 19 pieces worth 320 points in total. The first to 170 wins.
Facts checked with the Carrom by 22Softwares team against the game’s rules engine.