Carom a game played by two or four persons with the help of a board, 19 round wooden or plastic pieces and one striker. The square shaped board has pockets at four corners. According to the rules of the International Carom Federation, each side of a board has a minimum length of 73.50 cm and maximum length of 74 cm. Each pocket has a diameter of 4.45 cm. Of the 19 pieces, 9 are white, 9 black and 1 red. Each piece has a diameter of 3.18 cm to 3.02 cm and each weighs 5.5 gm. At the start of a game all the pieces are assembled at the centre of the board and the striker is used to break the assembly and later to put the pieces into the pockets. The round striker has a diameter of 4.13 cm and weighs no more than 15 gm.

Carom is one of the most popular indoor games of Bangladesh. Competitive carom tournaments are organised at schools, colleges, universities, clubs and societies. The Bangladesh Carom Federation was established in 1990 to help promote this game. It was recognised by the government on 11 July 1999. By then it had already become a member of the Asian Carom Federation. The Bangladesh Federation has been organising national carom competitions including the Millennium Carom Competition and the Victory Day Carom Competition. The Bangladesh Federation has been participating in international tournaments and in 1999, it became champion at the Nadinight Championships in Maldives. At the invitation of The International Carom Federation, Bangladesh took part at the Third World Cup Carom Championship in Delhi in November 2000 and secured third position. In 2000, Bangladesh Carom Federation became a member of the International Carom Federation. [Gofran Faroqi]