As the sun was setting in front of the Imperial Palace in Trier we stumbled upon this group. They were kind enough to explain the game to Stephen, who was kind enough to go ask the questions we were posing to each other.
A branch of my family is originally from France, and we play boules (with an ‘s’)! Very similar to Italian Bocce, but more fun, IMNSHO. When we pull out our set on a summer evening, we will always have a neighbour or two (or three) come over to join us 🙂
Hmmm….I saw this just today at ROFU and concluded myself that it must be SOME type of Bocce game…however — all the balls were silver so I was a bit confused as to how one would tell his/her ball from another’s. Praytell, how is it different than traditional Bocce? Hope all is well in your world, Kim! — amy 🙂
The silver balls have different markings on them so you can tell them apart. Our set has four with engraved circles and four with engraved stripes. As for the difference, Bocce is similar to bowling and is played on a flat lawn or court, while Boules is similar to horseshoes and can be played pretty much anywhere. We play in our yard, but in France it’s often played on hard-packed dirt in public parks or town squares.
From the (gorgeous) pictures, I think they are playing with the same rules as Boules.
Starry Sky Journal 
A branch of my family is originally from France, and we play boules (with an ‘s’)! Very similar to Italian Bocce, but more fun, IMNSHO. When we pull out our set on a summer evening, we will always have a neighbour or two (or three) come over to join us 🙂
Hmmm….I saw this just today at ROFU and concluded myself that it must be SOME type of Bocce game…however — all the balls were silver so I was a bit confused as to how one would tell his/her ball from another’s. Praytell, how is it different than traditional Bocce? Hope all is well in your world, Kim! — amy 🙂
The silver balls have different markings on them so you can tell them apart. Our set has four with engraved circles and four with engraved stripes. As for the difference, Bocce is similar to bowling and is played on a flat lawn or court, while Boules is similar to horseshoes and can be played pretty much anywhere. We play in our yard, but in France it’s often played on hard-packed dirt in public parks or town squares.
From the (gorgeous) pictures, I think they are playing with the same rules as Boules.