évolution billard français ou carambole.

To understand how "Billiards" became "Carom Billiards" and then "French Billiards", it is interesting to go back - briefly - to the very origins of the game of Billiards (more information in the chapter "History of Billiards and its Tables"):

In the 14th century, an "outdoor" game, “Plein Champ” (=played in the fields), consists of propelling the balls as far as possible with a stick. Later, the game is limited to a smaller area, surrounded by "buttées" (= stops) ("la Courte Boule") (= the Short Ball) and the rule is to push the ball under an arch before scoring a goal by getting into the "Tiret", a kind of pin stuck in the ground) with a stick or a sledgehammer bearing the same name as the game: the "Billart". Floor billiards was born.

In the 15th century, the game is brought indoors and the 1st known billiard table is manufactured. The rule remains the same: passing under an arch before knocking down a pin.

In the 16th century, "blouses" (or pockets) are introduced, the goal being for the player to force the opponent’s ball into them while avoiding falling into them himself. The arch, the pin, the mace and the stick are still unchanged.

In the 17th century, billiard tables enter the "Academies" and are found together with unsavoury gambling games (Dice, Piquet, etc.) generating conflict. The game of billiards is no exception, hence the need for precise written rules. In 1665, the 1st known written rule of the "Nouveau jeu de Billard tel qu'il se joue à présent" (= New Game of Billiards as it is played now) is published. The principle remains the same: 2 players, one ball each, an arch to pass through, a pin to knock down, and "blouses" where the opponent’s ball is to be sent but which the player has to avoid. This is the "jeu Ordinaire" (= Common Game). Then, very quickly, the "Jeu de la Guerre" (= War Game) appears, in which several players (up to 9 or 10) can play at the same time, each with a personalised ball at the start to determine the order of play. The rule is slightly modified: the pin is removed but the arch is kept and each player, in turn, tries to push the opponent’s ball into a pocket to eliminate him.

In the 18th century, the design of the game and the equipment used are changed, but the “Jeu de la Guerre” continues to be played, as shown in the engraving by Nilson (1756) below.

Around 1770, the pin, already removed, is replaced by a "neutral" ball which belongs to nobody but that is to be touched before or after the opponent’s ball to create a "Carambolage", the French word for the action of crashing (voluntarily or not) into several objects or obstacles. This neutral ball is tinted red to distinguish it from the other 2, and takes the name of "Carambole", derived from "carambolage", giving rise to the "Jeu à la Carambole" (= Carom game). Later, some people have tried to associate the word "carambola" with the fruit of the carambola tree, by analogy with its round shape and red colour. The introduction of a 'neutral' ball, no longer static like the old pin, but mobile because it changes position at each shot, paves the way for series (quite limited at first) of several caroms without falling into a pocket. There were already straight cues at the beginning of the century for a more precise game, and the arch disappears at the end of the century. There are several variants of the "Carom" game: "partie blanche, à écrire, Doublet à Doublet, de Lorraine, de la perte, de commande, de la Royale and à la Bricole", all of which are adopted by French and then European players and are played with 3 balls, 1 red and 2 white (except for "carambole à la Russe", which requires 5 balls: 1 red, 1 yellow, 1 blue and 2 white).