Bitlles, the boules game of Catalonia

There is no lack of sports games that involve tossing, rolling and pushing round objects around, from seriously athleticism-heavy basketball and hockey to more democratic pétanque, darts, and bowling where grey hair or a beer belly do not pose a significant disadvantage for the player.

The games mentioned above are all familiar and recognizable, even if you have never played any of them yourself. There are, however, many regional and national variations of the boules-type games. In Spain alone one can find not only bowling but also boules games specific to the province of Léon—bolos leoneses; in the province of Cantabria—bolo palma; and in Catalonia — bitlles catalanes. Let's talk about the latter.

To play bitlles, you need three medium-sized wooden stubby bats (bitllots) and six boules pins (bitlles). The pins are set into two rows 11.5 m away from the players (9.5 m for women and children). Each player has three tries to score a Bitlla—that is, to knock over all pins but one, a feat that’s rewarded with 10 points. Otherwise, the number of pins knocked over is the score earned by the player. The full game consists of three turns with three tries each, so the player has a maximum of nine throws per game.

Because the rules of bitlles are so simple and the equipment required is so straightforward, the game is a much-beloved pastime for many Catalans, and has been for many years—the first mention of bitlles dates back to 1376! There are 94 amateur bitlles clubs registered in Catalonia today, and both team and individual tournaments are commonplace. In official bittles tournaments, the teams from Barcelona almost always lose to bitlles players from deep into the country—Barcelona has fewer quiet corners with suitably flat surfaces and too many other interesting things to do.