Billiards Carom Carom billiards, also known as French billiards, is a game played on a table without pockets with three balls (two white and one red), with the goal of driving one of the white balls (cue ball) into both of the other balls. The object is to get rid of all the balls in that manner, by hitting them with the cue or hand. It is one of the oldest games in existence and was widely played during the 17th century in France. The term "carom" comes from the Arabic word qara'a meaning "to shoot", which describes how the shooter aims to hit the balls with the stick. The carom board is used when playing billiards carom. It consists of an oblong wooden table with a sloping floor. The table is divided into squares or caroms by parallel lines drawn at regular intervals across its surface. Each carom is numbered from 1 to 20 or more depending on the size of the table. A carom is scored when one of the balls is driven into one of the cupets located at each end of the board. Scoring can only be done on caroms; if any of the balls go out of play before being shot at least once, they become dead balls and cannot be scored against anymore. There are two types of shots in carom: potting and banking.