Pétanque (French pronunciation: [petɑ̃k]; Occitan: Petanca [peˈtaŋkɔ])

From Wikipedia:

The current form of the game originated in 1907 in La Ciotat, in Provence, in southern France. The English and French name pétanque comes from petanca in the Provençal dialect of the Occitan language, deriving from the expression pès tancats [ˈpɛs taŋˈkats], meaning "feet together"[1] or more exactly "feet anchored".

Pétanque in its present form was invented in 1907 in the town of La Ciotat near Marseilles by a French boule lyonnaise player named Jules Lenoir, whom rheumatism prevented from running before he threw the ball.[4] The length of the pitch or field was reduced by roughly half, and the moving delivery was replaced with a stationary one.

Observation of the above mentined game in front of the Matisse museum today

Tools

Metal balls

Piece of cloth to rub the balls

Small wooden ball

Red circle (not imperative)

String with a magnet on the end (if you're sick of bending down and picking up your balls) – can also be used to measure the length between two balls in case there is disagreement of which ball is closest

Three legged camping chair

Great swear word vocabulary

Gauloise cigarettes

Game

Each contester has 2 metal balls and the object of the game is to get their ball as close to the tiny wooden ball that is thrown first out into the field, of approximate 4x4 meters, that seems to be mobile depending on the sun, shade, slopes and the general mood of the contestants. A red circle is laid down to mark the point of throw of every contestant. Contestants either throw to get close to the wooden ball or they throw to push other balls out of the way much to the opposing contestant displeasure manifested with theatrical and sarcastic remarks. Teams or individual play is optional. All good throws in the first round procures banging of balls together. For obvious reasons this does not happen in the second round. Contestants can either observe, standing or sitting on their camping stool while others are throwing, or practice throwing on the side if they feel the game is moving to slow. At regular intervals there is an assemble hoovering over after the final layout of the balls to discuss and decide who's the real winner.

Tactics

No subject seems to have the same tactic of throwing. Here are a few methods observed:

• bending of knees all the way and swing arm high with a hand-twist on the metal ball so it spins
• stand straight, lean forward, arm swings half way up, great force in the hand-throw (followed by some body movements in hope that the metal ball is telepathically connected to the body and will copy the movements)
• position straight up and then a slight lean to the right with the weight on the right foot, arm swung three quarters up and left foot leaves ground slightly when the ball leaves hand.

It's remarkable how every individual is clearly marked with their own trait and character and the only thing they have in common is the love of the game, buoyancy in the knees and the fact that they all push out their chest when a girl in an orange skirt walks by.