Boule (French for 'ball') is a

gambling game Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of Value (economics), value ("the stakes") on a Event (probability theory), random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy (ga ...

, similar to

roulette Roulette is a casino game named after the French word meaning ''little wheel'' which was likely developed from the Italian game Biribi''.'' In the game, a player may choose to place a bet on a single number, various groupings of numbers, the ...

, that dates back to the popular 19th-century game of '' Petits Chevaux'' ('Little Horses').

Playing

The wheel is divided into 18 pockets which are numbered from 1 to 9, each number occurring twice. The numbers 1, 3, 6 and 8 are black, while the numbers 2, 4, 7 and 9 are red, and 5 is yellow. Instead of the

ivory Ivory is a hard, white material from the tusks (traditionally from elephants) and teeth of animals, that consists mainly of dentine, one of the physical structures of teeth and tusks. The chemical structure of the teeth and tusks of mammals is ...

ball used in roulette, a

rubber Rubber, also called India rubber, latex, Amazonian rubber, ''caucho'', or ''caoutchouc'', as initially produced, consists of polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds. Thailand, Malaysia, and ...

ball is used in Boule.

Betting options

Even odds

*''Rouge'' (red: 2, 4, 7, 9) - ''Noir'' (black: 1, 3, 6, 8) *''Pair'' (even: 2, 4, 6, 8) - ''Impair'' (odd: 1, 3, 7, 9, except the 5) *''Manque'' (low: 1, 2, 3, 4) - ''Passe'' (high: 6, 7, 8, 9) The number five corresponds to the ''zéro'' in roulette: if the ''boule'' falls on the five, all simple chance bets are lost.

Better than even odds

*''Plein'': a bet on a single number, paid at 7:1. *''Cheval'': a bet on any two numbers, paid at 3:1.

House advantage

The overall

house advantage Games available in most casinos are commonly called casino games. In a casino game, the players gamble cash or casino chips on various possible random outcomes or combinations of outcomes. Casino games are also available in online casinos, whe ...

for all forms of betting in Boule is

\frac

= 11.11%. Boule is thus rather disadvantageous for the punter; by comparison, in European roulette, the house advantage for simple chance play is 1.35%, and the house advantage for multiple chance play is 2.70%. Boule is played for low stakes compared to roulette, especially in resorts where there is no concession for the Grand Jeu, i.e. a

casino A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live entertai ...

Petits Chevaux

In Petits Chevaux, also called Jeu des Petits Chevaux or Rösslispiel, there are the same betting options as in Boule. The winning number is not chosen, however, by throwing a ball, but by a mechanical device that simulates a

horse race Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic p ...

''en miniature''. ''Petits Chevaux'' was the predecessor of Boule. The pockets of many Boule wheels are decorated with pictures of horses in commemoration of ''Petits Chevaux''. Around 1900 Petits Chevaux was a very popular casino game. A surviving gaming table by the firm of J. A. Jost (Paris c. 1905) is displayed in the

Swiss Museum of Games Located on the shore of Lake Geneva between the cities of Vevey and Montreux, the Swiss Museum of Games in La Tour-de-Peilz La Tour-de-Peilz () is a municipality in Riviera-Pays-d'Enhaut District in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland. The city ...

in La Tour-de-Peilz. Until 2003, a similar game, the horse roulette game of Klondyke, was played in

Baden-Baden Baden-Baden () is a spa town in the states of Germany, state of Baden-Württemberg, south-western Germany, at the north-western border of the Black Forest mountain range on the small river Oos (river), Oos, ten kilometres (six miles) east of the ...

's casino at the time of the

Iffezheim Iffezheim is a town in the district of Rastatt in Baden-Württemberg in Germany. It lies close to the Rhine river, where the Lock Iffezheim is also situated. Iffezheim is also known for the horse races, which takes place three times a year. Pol ...

Races. The gaming apparatus is housed today in Baden-Baden's Municipal Museum. In France the name "Petits Chevaux" is also used for a variant of

Pachisi Pachisi (, Hindustani: əˈtʃiːsiː is a cross and circle board game that originated in Ancient India. It is described in the ancient text ''Mahabharata'' under the name of "Pasha". It is played on a board shaped like a symmetrical cross. A ...

or Mensch, ärgere dich nicht; the playing stones are in the shape of

knights A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

; see

Jeu des petits chevaux ''Jeu des petits chevaux'' () is a French cross and circle game Cross and circle is a board game design used for race games played throughout the world. Design The basic design comprises a circle divided into four equal portions by a cros ...

Literature

Ralph Tegtmeier Ralph Tegtmeier (born November 1, 1952), also known as Frater V∴D∴ and Frater U∴D∴, is a German occultist, a longtime member of the Fraternitas Saturni, and co-founder of the Illuminates of Thanateros. Significance Horst E. Miers in his ( ...

: ''Casino. Die Welt der Spielbanken, Spielbanken der Welt''. DuMont, Cologne, 1989, (Bildband) * ''The Complete Hoyle’s Games''. Revised & updated by Lawrence H. Dawson, London 1950, Wordsworth Reference, reprint 1994, * Thierry Depaulis: ''Die "Kleinen Pferde". Ein Casinospiel der Belle Epoque'', in: U. Schädler (Hrsg.): ''Spiele der Menschheit. 5000 Jahre Kulturgeschichte der Gesellschaftsspiele'', WBG, Darmstadt, 2007, {{ISBN, 978-3-534-21020-6, pp. 173–179 Gambling games Roulette and wheel games Historical games