The history of carrom

[Souvik Mukherjee]

Dear All,

Appealing to the hivemind here. I have been struggling to find a comprehensive history of the game Carrom that is still very popular in South Asia. I was wondering if anyone here could point to an account of the origins of the carrom-board game and its global spread.  

Would be really grateful for any help.

Best regards,

Souvik

Dr Souvik Mukherjee | Assistant Professor in Cultural Studies | Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta| R - 1, Baishnabhghata Patuli Township | T +91 033 2462-5795 / +91 033 2436-8313 | ext. 207 | https://cssscal.org/faculty_souvik.php |sou...@cssscal.org | 

Videogames and Storytelling: Reading Games and Playing Books (Palgrave MacMillan 2015) | Videogames and Postcolonialism: The Empire Plays Back (Springer UK 2017)

[fred horn]

Dear Souvik,

Maybe you will find this interesting.

In the introduction of my article on the small game STRAAT the author Fred Schuurhof talks about his involvement with the game CARROM.

Hope this give some more knowledge on the spread of the game.

All yours and keep on playing!

Fred Horn

[Games]

Dear Dr Souvik Mukherjee,

On my website is a page on the Carrom Company in the U.S.: https://thebiggamehunter.com/game-companies/carrom/

The article, Carroms & Crokinole, with numerous photographs, can be found here: https://thebiggamehunter.com/games-one-by-one/carroms-crokinole/

Here are a couple of old book sources:

Grunfeld, Frederic. Games of the World. New York, NY: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1975.
Excellent book covering history and rules of numerous games and instructions for making and playing them. Includes CAROMS, CHINESE CHECKERS, PACHISI, SENET, FOX & GEESE, NINE MEN'S MORRIS, SHOGI, SNAKES AND LADDERS, SHUT THE BOX, and WARI.

Kelly, Wayne. The Crokinole Book. Toronto, Canada: Stoddart Publishing Co., Ltd, 1988, 1994.
Traces the origins and history of CROKINOLE.

Mebane, John. The Coming Collecting Boom. South Brunswick, NJ: A. S. Barnes and Co., 1968.A chapter entitled "Our Forefathers' Games" discusses the antecedents of some of today's games, including HALMA, PROGRESSIVE ANGLING (an 1888 "FISHPOND" game), and CROKINOLE, with ad illustrations of MONETA, LOGOS, NEGOMI, and others.

And this from the later carton collector and historian, Brian Lonsway:

Carrom Games

CARROM GAMES
by Brian Lonsway
1997

Carrom is a diverse game of skill with an interesting history dating back slightly more than 100 years. The consensus is that the game first surfaced in India around 1890, apparently as an easily portable modification of English pocket billiards. It consisted of a square board, about 34 inches on a side, and in lieu of balls, it used small discs, called coins, which were propelled into string-webbed corner pockets by the snap of a finger. An Americanized, smaller, and much easier to play version, using wooden rings as a more resilient playing piece, was first patented in Ludington, Michigan, in 1897. Local legend holds that the game was brought to America by a returning missionary, a story that is in keeping with the slightly vague history in India. The game is still hugely popular there, as in Burma, Malaysia, Yemen and nearby countries. As recently as 1988, an International Carrom Federation was formed in Madras, India, where strict rules were drafted for the game. Its broad appeal is attested to by the fact that the first international competition was held in 1989 in Germany, and a 1996 competition in Durham, North Carolina, took in players from Italy, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Saudi Arabia, among other countries. 

The traveler can easily witness the popularity of Carrom. I was in London recently, and made a point of visiting a nearby city with a strong Indian population; there I bought a child’s version of Carrom from a small store that carried six versions of the board in three sizes. The famous Harrod’s Department Store in London carried the tournament size Malaysian edition. To top that, friends of mine saw young boys playing Carrom on a sidewalk in Venice. 

Further information about the Eastern Carrom game can be obtained from Billy Stevens, President, United States Carrom Association, and Vice President, International Carrom Federation, 703 Ninth St., Durham, NC 27705, Tel/FAX (919) 489-4057, or e-mail: car...@ix.netcom.com.

The good old American version of Carrom is still being manufactured in Ludington, Michigan, by its originator, a company recently renamed The Carrom Company (218 E. Dowland St., Ludington, MI 49431). Early in this century, the forerunner of the Carrom Co., the Ludington Novelty Company, had the wisdom to use the reverse side of this sturdy game board to incorporate another popular game of the time, Crokinole. The only real similarity between the two games, other than the large, wood playing surface, lies in their playing pieces and the means of propulsion, usually one’s forefinger. These combination boards
ensured their mutual success, and both games are played with gusto to this day. 

Author, collector and Carrom historian Brian Lonsway died in November 2001. He was a professional glassblower in Ohio, and his collection of approximately 150 vintage carrom/crokinole boards, most of them different, has been maintained by his wife Christine.

—Bruce Whitehill

[Souvik Mukherjee]

Many thanks for this. I have already looked at your website :)

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