Free Pétanque scoreboard
Keep Pétanque score live on your phone and share the match with anyone — free to watch, no account needed to follow along.
In Pétanque, only one team scores each end — a point for every boule closer to the cochonnet than your opponent's best, all the way to 13. Between throws there's plenty of standing around the jack, so let ScoreZen hold the tally. Tap to add points on any phone, and anyone at the boulodrome can follow the live score by scanning a QR code.
Why score Pétanque with ScoreZen
- One-tap scoring, built for Pétanque
- Share the live score by QR code or link
- Free for spectators — no app to install to watch
- Keeps working if the connection drops
- 34 sports, tournaments and standings included
How Pétanque scoring works
At the end of each end, the closest boules to the jack are compared. The team with the closest boule scores 1 point for each boule placed better than the opponent's best boule. Only one team scores per end (from 1 to 6 points depending on the format). Points accumulate until the winning score is reached.
Match format
Pétanque is not timed but played in successive ends. A game is usually played to 13 points; some competitions (qualifying rounds, pools) are played to 11 points. The number of ends is not fixed: play continues until one team reaches the required total.
How to win
The first team to reach the agreed points total (13 points, or 11 depending on the competition stage) wins the game.
Recommended ScoreZen setup
Set up pétanque in cumulative-points scoring mode: tap +1, +2 or +3 for the number of scoring boules. There is no timer. The game does not stop on its own: end it yourself when a team reaches 13 points (or 11 in qualifying). For an automatic finish at the target, create a "Custom sport" with a target score (e.g. 13).
How petanque scoring actually works
A game of petanque is played to 13 points. The first team to 13 wins, straight away. No two-point margin, no overtime, no tie-break. Leagues and qualifying heats may be played to 11 points instead: the rules allow it, but the organiser has to announce it before play starts.
The score is built end by end (a mène in French). An end finishes once both teams have thrown all their boules. The team with the boule closest to the jack wins that end, and scores one point for every boule it has closer than the opponent's best boule. You count boules, not ends. In singles and doubles each player throws three boules; in triples, each player throws two. So the ceiling is 3 points per end in singles, and 6 points per end in doubles and triples.
Two situations trip everyone up. Dead jack: if both teams still hold boules, the end is void and nobody scores; if only one team has boules left, that team scores one point per boule still in hand. Equidistant boules belonging to opposing teams: if nothing is left to throw, the end is void and the jack goes back to the team that last scored; otherwise the teams keep throwing, alternately, until the point falls one way. The team that scored throws the jack for the next end, 6 to 10 metres out. (Official Rules for the Sport of Petanque, FIPJP, articles 5, 7, 14, 26, 27 and 29; FFPJP for French competitions.)
The scoring mistakes that spoil a game
Mistake number one: scoring one point when you had three. You spot the winning boule, you say "one", you move on. The correct reflex is to find the opponent's best boule first, then count every boule of yours sitting in front of it. Two, three, sometimes six.
Mistake number two: picking boules up too early. The rules are blunt here. You may not pick up played boules before the end is complete, and any boule picked up before the points are agreed is dead. No claim is admissible afterwards. So keep the order: measure, announce, let the opponents confirm, then collect. During a measurement everyone else stands at least two metres back. The player who threw the last boule, or a team-mate, does the measuring, and the opposing team always keeps the right to measure in turn.
Three quieter traps. Forgetting to update the running total, so two ends later nobody agrees on where you are. Mixing up a void end with a nil: a void end is not written down at all, and the jack goes back to the team that last scored. And switching format between the group stage at 11 points and the main draw at 13 without telling the players.
Keeping score on match day
The rules name no official scorer. The players keep the score themselves. So pick someone before the first boule is thrown, one person per lane. In competition, the team that has just scored is usually the one that calls the points out loud.
Stand outside the playing lane, to the side or behind the circle, never between the jack and the shooter. Step back two metres during a measurement. At the end of every end, say it out loud: "three for us, 8-5". Wait for the opponents' nod. Only then collect the boules.
Score disputed? You do not replay the past. Go back to the last total both teams agreed on, and write down where the disagreement started. Once the boules are in someone's hand, that end cannot be reopened. In competition the umpire decides, and the decision is final.
For the spectators: a click counter or a 0-13 plate at the end of the lane, turned towards the crowd, not towards you. At a tournament, add a central board where every lane reports its result. And keep a written sheet per game. That sheet is what settles the argument at the bar afterwards.
What ScoreZen changes for petanque
For petanque the gesture is simple. After each end, the scorer opens ScoreZen on a phone and adds 1 to 6 points. The total stays right, and it is written down somewhere other than in someone's head.
The share link and the QR code are what change a Sunday. Family at home, players on the other lanes, the people at the bar: everyone follows the score live. Spectators are free, unlimited, and need no account. Full-screen TV mode puts the score on a tablet or a screen at the end of the lane. If the network does not reach your ground, offline mode keeps the count going and syncs afterwards.
For a tournament: knockout, league, groups, Swiss system, best-of-3 and best-of-5 series, and rotating teams for a mêlée. One QR code covers the whole competition: the players find their own game, enter their scores, and the main board updates without anyone walking back to the scoring table. Then a printable A4 scoresheet, CSV export of the fixtures, an iframe widget and a public API for the club website, a transparent OBS overlay if you stream the final, plus a replay and a story to share the same evening. All of it in 25 languages.
Pricing: spectators never pay, you get 3 trial matches for life, then it is €1.99 once, for life.
Frequently asked questions
Can I keep Pétanque score to 13 online without an account?
Yes. Open ScoreZen on any phone and tap once for each boule that scores an end — the total climbs toward 13 as you play. Nobody needs to sign up to watch: share a link or QR code and your teammates follow the live board in real time.
How many points can you score in a single end?
Three at most in singles, six in doubles and triples. You score one point for each of your boules that is closer to the jack than the opponent's best boule. In singles each player has three boules; in triples each player has two, so six per team. A six-point end is therefore possible in doubles and triples.
Can I play a game to 11 points instead of 13?
Yes. The rules set games at 13 points, and allow leagues and qualifying heats to be played to 11. It is the organiser's call, not the players', and it has to be announced before play begins. In a time-limited game, the organiser's regulations decide what follows the signal: the usual formula is to finish the end in progress and play one extra end, the leading team taking the win if the game is still unfinished.
How do I score when the jack is knocked out of play?
Three cases. If both teams still have boules to throw, the end is void and nobody scores. If only one team has boules in hand, that team scores one point per remaining boule. If neither team has boules left, the end is void. You replay, and the jack goes back to the team that last scored.
Can I correct the score if the two teams disagree?
Yes, but only back to the last total both sides accepted. An end whose boules have already been picked up cannot be reopened, because the rules rule out any claim on that subject. So restart from the shared score, note the disputed end, and call the umpire if there is one. The umpire's decision is final.