Both games end the same way: someone measures, someone argues, and the closest ball to the little one takes the end. Everything before that is different, and the difference starts underfoot.
The spec sheet
The published figures, side by side
| Bocce | Petanque | |
|---|---|---|
| Governing body | USBF | FIPJP |
| Ball | 107 mm tournament size, resin | 70.5 to 80 mm, steel |
| Ball weight | Not fixed by ball size alone | 650 g to 800 g |
| Target ball | 57 mm pallino | 30 mm jack, 10 to 18 g |
| Delivery | Rolled | Thrown from a circle, feet planted |
| Stance | Walk up and roll | Both feet inside a 35 to 50 cm circle |
| Target distance | Down the court | Jack thrown 6 m to 10 m |
| Full court | 86.92 ft x 13.12 ft | At least 15 m x 4 m for championships |
| Backyard version | About 60 ft x 12 ft | A 12 m strip of gravel or hardpack |
| Best surface | Short grass or a prepared court | Gravel, hardpack, fine stone |
The deciding question
Which one your yard can actually host
All grass? Buy bocce
A rolled resin ball and a mown lawn are made for each other, and the 90 mm and 107 mm sizes let you match the ball to the crowd. Petanque on the same lawn is a lobbing game with the best shot removed.
Gravel, hardpack or a long path? Buy petanque
This is the surface petanque was built for, and it is a surface bocce rolls badly on. It is also the only boules game here that works on a driveway.
Mixed ages? Bocce again, but for a different reason
Bocce publishes a smaller ball. A 90 mm set is the change that lets a nine-year-old play the same game as an adult. Petanque's smallest legal boule is still 650 g of steel.
The common ground
What the two games share
For all the differences in ball, surface and delivery, these two games are structurally the same, and it is worth knowing because the skill transfers almost completely.
- The end. Both play in ends: throw or roll everything, work out who is closest to the small target ball, score, then start again from the other direction.
- Only one side scores per end — the side with the closest ball, one point for each of its balls nearer than the opponent's best.
- The two shots. Both games separate the gentle approach from the deliberate strike that knocks an opponent out. Learning when to attempt the second is the whole game in both.
- The measure. Both end in disputes settled by a measuring device, which is why a set without one is an incomplete set.
Which is why owning both is less redundant than it sounds: the same players, the same scoring, two completely different surfaces. If you have a lawn and a gravel path, that is the case for it. If you only have one surface, the surface decides — and bocce sets or petanque sets covers whichever one that is.
Go deeper
If petanque is the one you want
The scoring skeleton is shared with bocce, but the turn order is not: in petanque the losing side throws again rather than alternating. That rule and the rest of the FIPJP sequence are in how to play petanque.
The other side
Where to buy the other one
The card at the top of this page covers one side of the comparison. This is our current pick for the other, ranked on published specifications rather than on play we have not done.
Best published ball size
Idle Banter Boules Game Set, 8 x 73 mm
Idle Banter
The only boules set here that publishes its ball diameter — 73 mm, which sits inside the FIPJP legal range of 70.5 to 80 mm rather than leaving you to guess.
Skip this if
Skip this if weight matters more than diameter to you. A published diameter inside the legal range still tells you nothing about mass, and mass is what makes a boule hold its place.
Price as of October 19, 2026. #ad How we make money
FAQ
Questions people actually ask
Is petanque the same as bocce?
Which is better on grass?
Which ball is heavier?
Why you can check our work
We have not played these. Every figure above is copied from a manufacturer's published listing or a governing body's published rules, and named so you can verify it. Where a maker publishes nothing, the field is blank rather than filled in. How we pick explains the whole method, including what would change a recommendation.
Read next
Related pages
Picks
Compare yard games
Twenty-one head-to-heads with the verdict first and the published specs behind it.
Picks
Best petanque sets
Steel boules judged against the FIPJP rules — including the one set that publishes its ball diameter.
Picks
Best bocce ball sets
Six sets compared on published ball diameter, material and weight — including the size question nobody explains.
Comparison
Bocce vs lawn bowling
Judgment against a straight arm — which rolling game suits your crowd, with the published figures.
Picks
Yard games for driveways and hard surfaces
Hard, flat and long — what a driveway is genuinely good for, and what it will destroy.
Sources
Every figure on this page is copied from one of these sources. If you find one that is wrong or out of date, tell us and we will fix it.