What’s the difference between boules, pétanque, lawn bowls and bocce ball?

If you've seen people rolling or throwing balls in a park or courtyard and wondered which game they might be playing, you're not alone.

The world of ball-wrangling sports can be confusing, with titles like pétanque, boules, bowls and bocce chucked around and used interchangeably – though sometimes not accurately.

In this helpful guide we seek to  untangle the terminology, remove some of the mystery and explore what makes each of them unique (or not as the case may be!).

After reading this, you'll be sure to know your boules from your bowls, and your pallino from your jack and cochonett.

Understanding ‘boules’: the French umbrella term

Here's where the confusion starts: ‘boules’ isn't actually a specific game, it’s just simply the French plural for ‘balls’ which represents the collective name for an entire family of games that involve throwing or rolling balls toward a target.

‘Boules’ is to ball games what ‘racket sports’ is to tennis and badminton. Both pétanque and bocce ball belong to the boules family, along with lawn bowls, boule lyonnaise and several other variations played around the world.

However, in France, people often use the word ‘boules’ to refer specifically to pétanque, which is why you might hear the terms used interchangeably – this casual usage has spread internationally. The key thing to remember is that ‘boules’ is a generic term and can refer to any sport falling under its umbrella, while pétanque and bocce ball (and their variants) are specific games within this category.

Pétanque: France’s throwing game

Pétanque is a specific variation of French ball-throwing games that was created in the town of La Ciotat in 1910, requiring players to keep both feet inside a circle when throwing with no run up or stepping allowed.

The name of the game was derived from the French expression ‘pieds tanqués’ or ‘feet fixed’ as a nod to its origin story. Pétanque was created by the friend of a keen player of boule lyonnaise – the most popular form of boules in France at the time – who suffered from rheumatism to the extent that he could no longer run. The friend’s kind accommodation not only allowed him to keep playing, but inadvertently created a popular new sport.

Pétanque is played by two teams who throw metal balls to target a small ball called the ‘cochonnet’ (literally ‘piglet’). The throw is made with a distinctive backhand motion, palm facing down, often with a flick of the wrist that can lob the ball high into the air to approach its target.

When all balls have been thrown, the team with the ball closest to the cochonnet is the winner and points are awarded for each of their balls which are closer to it than the closest ball of the other team – up to a maximum of 13 points.
Pétanque courts are typically 13’ by 50’, with balls about three inches in diameter distinguished by different types of grooves – one for each team.

The game doesn't require a dedicated court and can be played almost anywhere: on gravel courtyards, sandy areas or hard-packed dirt, with formal courts sometimes marked out with string strung between nails driven into the ground. Any undulations or imperfections of the ground form part of the challenge of the game.

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Lawn bowls: Britain's curving game

Lawn bowls (or simply ‘bowls’) is the British variant of the boules family, with an eccentric feature that sets it apart from its European cousins – the balls aren't quite round.

They might look spherical at first glance, but lawn bowls are subtly asymmetrical to create a weight ‘bias’, making the bowl travel in a curved path.

The bias means players don't aim directly at the target ball (called the jack or kitty). Instead they aim off to one side, rolling the ball underarm with a smooth delivery motion, judging the curve so the bowl finishes at the desired spot.

Different strategic shots are used according to the state of play to either approach the jack, block opponents’ shots or knock other balls from their position. Lofting the ball in the air is frowned upon and not permitted.

Lawn bowls are larger than both pétanque and bocce balls – ranging from just under to exactly five inches in diameter and made of hard plastic – and are rolled to play the game on well-manicured grass, synthetic turf, or carpet. Players can compete in singles, pairs, triples, or fours formats, which affect how many points are required to win a game – typically 21 for singles – with points attributed in a similar way to pétanque.  

Bowls is played on a playing area known as ‘rinks’ and one bowling green usually contains multiple rinks alongside each other, with a ditch around the green’s perimeter to contain errant bowls. With official rinks just over 131-feet long and a bowling green typically containing six rinks, a dedicated space is required to host the game.

Bocce ball: Italy's rolling game

Bocce ball is the distant Italian cousin of pétanque and lawn bowls, sharing ancestry stretching back to ancient Rome and maybe even through the mists of time to ancient Egypt.

While pétanque is a throwing game, bocce ball is fundamentally a rolling game although throwing techniques can be used tactically, such as a ‘volo’ lob throw.

Before releasing the ball, players can step unrestrictedly to gain momentum before releasing the ball, in a similar way to bowling or curling. The ball is thrown underarm with the palm facing up, allowing it to roll smoothly off the fingers onto the court surface.

Unlike pétanque, in competitive play players must declare their shot type before throwing, whether a ‘punto’ precision roll, a ‘raffa’ throw that bounces then rolls to displace other balls, or a ‘volo’.

Scoring in bocce ball is similar to pétanque, with one point being awarded for each ball that sits closer to the pallino or jack – the equivalent of the cochonnet. Any ball that ends up touching the pallino when the game finishes attracts two points, however. To win a team must score either 11 or 12 points and win by at least two points.

Bocce balls are substantially larger than their pétanque cousins at just over four inches in diameter. Historically made of wood, modern bocce balls offer precise weight distribution and are usually made of solid plastic or resin, with different teams’ balls differentiated by bright colors or patterns.

Bocce ball requires a smoother, flatter playing surface than pétanque because the balls need to roll freely. Grass, sand, clay, concrete, artificial turf, hard flooring, concrete, carpet and crushed oyster shell are all suitable options – with some requiring more maintenance than others to be kept in an appropriate condition.

A regulation bocce ball court is substantially longer than a pétanque court at 12’ by 60’, or larger for some competitions, and importantly, features raised sideboards which prevent balls from rolling out of bounds.

The longer court, larger balls and rolling techniques of bocce ball create different strategic possibilities than pétanque. Players can use the sideboards for strategic banking shots off the sides to navigate around opponents' blocking balls and gain positional advantages – adding an extra tactical dimension similar to pool or billiards.

While bocce ball traditionally requires permanent fixed courts, portable courts like Packaworld's inflatable Packabocce courts have revolutionized accessibility with their ability to transform any flat surface into a bocce ball court in minutes. This has brought the game to schools, community programs, bars, vineyards, curling rinks, festivals and continuing care retirement communities across the globe where permanent courts are not practical.

Editors note: There’s also boccia, which is different again, but that’s another story! Read our separate bocce vs boccia guide about the differences between those sports to take your understanding to the next level.

The shared appeal

Whether you're throwing metal boules in a French village square, rolling bocce balls on a portable court in Texas, or calculating a curve on a British bowling green, pétanque, bocce ball and lawn bowl’s appeal lies in their accessibility and ability to bring people of all ages and abilities together to enjoy the thrill and strategy of sport.

Bocce ball has been riding an international wave of popularity of late and has become a mainstay of the Special Olympics, while pétanque has its own devoted following – centered in France.

So next time you see people wrangling balls strategically to close in on a target, you'll know the difference. And whether you choose to follow pétanque's throwing precision or bocce ball's rolling accuracy, you'll be joining a global community that's been part of a family of similar games for generations.