Parlour Bagatelle

There are no standards for this game and different manufacturers have come up with all manner of layouts and scoring possibilities for the game. In all cases, there are a set of steel balls (usually 10) which are propelled, in turn, up the chute on the right and into the playing area. Traditionally, a tiny cue is used to shoot the balls up the channel but modern varieties often feature a sprung plunger instead. The idea is to land the balls in scoring areas delimited by nails set into the board. The scores are indicated within each scoring receptacle. If a ball falls to the bottom of the playing area, it does not score.

Players take turns to play the set of balls and the player with the highest score wins. A match could be played by playing the best of 5 games.

Frequently seen on many Parlour Bagatelle boards are two special receptacles only big enough to catch a a single ball. One consists of three pins on the left and another consisting of four pins on the right. Again, many variations exist but here is one common interpretation:

Left - 3 pins - replay this ball and any dead balls.

Right - 4 pins - game finishes; no more balls can be played.