The photograph on the left is of a wooden Carom board. The name of the game is sometimes spelled Carroms, or Carums, or Karoms, or Karums, or something entirely different - depending upon the culture in which the game is played.
Origins of this game are speculative. It is found throughout eastern Asia and has an international popularity which includes international tournaments today. Some people who have attempted to establish a history for Caroms maintain that this game had been derived from billiards and may have been introduced by the British during the Empire period in the 1800s.
While commercial versions such as the one in the photograph above are a table top game, in India, Burma, and other parts of Asia the board may be fashioned with short legs to raise it from floor height so players sitting on the floor can play the game.
All Carom boards are square and have corner cut-outs, usually with attached woven pockets. Some of the Carom boards in the collection are "multi-game" boards and feature Caroms on one side of the board and Crokinole or some other games on the other side of the board. Multi-game boards and Crokinole boards are designated on the "Table Games" Webpage.
Click on the item in the upper left menu to be taken to a Webpage with instructions for playing Caroms.
Click on one of the photographs below to be taken to a Webpage about a specific Carom board in the collection.
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Last update March 25, 2010