Provencal Boules (Petanque) is Provence's national pastime. It has a definitive set of rules that, despite the seemingly informal nature of the game, must be followed.

Petanque revolves around the jack, a small wooden ball 25-35mm in diameter. Each team takes it in turn to aim a boule at this marker, the idea being to land the boule as close as possible to the jack. The team with the closest boule wins the round; points are allocated by tallying up how many boules the winner's team has closest to the marker (on the basis of one point per boule). The first to make thirteen points wins the match.

The team throwing the jack has to throw it from a circle scratched in the gravel. This circle is 30-50cm in diameter. The jack must be hurled 6 to 10m away from the boundary circle. When boules are aimed, each player must likewise stand within this circle.

At the end of a round a new circle is drawn around the jack, determining the spot where the next round will start.

Underarm throwing is required. Players can roll the boule in a dribble along the ground or they can hurl it high in the air in the hopes of landing it on top of an opponent's boule, thereby moving it out of position.

Throughout a match the boules are polished with a a soft white cloth as needed. Players who cannot stoop to pick up their boules can lift them up with a magnet attached to a piece of string.

A complete set of rules is available from www.boulepetanque.se.