What is Boules?
[[File:Boules set.jpg|thumb|A set of balls, as they are used for Pétanque. ]] [[File:Padrom3.jpg|thumb|Boulodrome in La Palmyre, France]] [[File:Boule 15-20m Entferng le Cochonnet vorlegen dann Kugeln legen schießen Montivilliers - Foto Wolfgang Pehlemann DSC08231.jpg|thumb|Players examine the result of a competition]] '''Boules''' is the name for a number of similar hand-[[Game|games]], which are played with heavy [[Ball|balls]]. In most cases, the aim of the game is to throw a ball, and to get it as close as possible to an object ball (small ball). Variants of these games include pétanque, which is popular in [[France]], [[boccia]] from [[Italy]], and [[bowls]] from [[Great Britain]]. Today, these games are played with balls made of [[metal]], which weight between {{Convert|800|g}} and {{Convert|1500|g}}. ==History== Such games have a long history. In the [[5th century BC]], Greek physician [[Hippocrates]] of Kos recommended the game. It used stone balls at the time. [[Julius Pollux]], a Greek scholar who lived in the 2nd century, described a game where bowls were thrown at a [[brick]]. [[Boule Lyonnaise]], and [[boccia]] (soft pétanque) go back to this game. During the [[Middle Ages]], the game was forbidden at various times. In the 17th century, some people wanted to promote games such as [[battledore]] and [[shuttlecock]], and argued against boules which, at the time, was more popular. [[Category:Sports]]