Pétanque rules: a dead jack during an end (the 7 official cases)

Why this rule is central

The jack isn't a decorative detail — it's the absolute reference for the whole end. Every measurement, every point, a team's entire strategy is built around its position. When it becomes dead, the whole end turns on its head.

• 🎯The end can be cancelled — in some cases, no one scores and it's replayed.
• 🏆Points can be awarded — in other cases, the team that still had bowls to play scores automatically.
• 🔄Play resumes according to a defined procedure — not according to the random agreement of the players present.
• ⚖️It's not a house rule — improvising a "logical" solution in case of doubt is the number one source of post-end conflicts.

Continuing to play after a potentially dead jack. If the situation isn't settled immediately, it becomes very difficult to contest the score afterwards — even if the rule was in your favour. Stop, check, then replay.

The 7 official cases of a dead jack

The FIPJP rules exhaustively list the situations in which the jack is declared dead during an end. These cases are exhaustive : outside these 7 situations, the jack remains valid even if it has moved.

The jack has been moved into an area outside the defined playing limits — terrain boundary, fixed obstacle, off-terrain area. It is immediately declared dead.

The jack must be visible from the throwing circle by the player about to play. If a bowl or an obstacle completely masks it, the rules regulate this situation precisely. Note: a partially masked jack is not automatically dead — this is the case that causes the most confusion on terrains.

Following an impact, the jack ended up at a distance from the circle of less than 6 metres or more than 10 metres (official FIPJP distances). The distance no longer being compliant, the jack is dead. See our article on the regulated playing distances.

On a difficult terrain, the jack can disappear after a violent impact. The rules provide for a search time. If the jack is not found within this time, it is declared dead. This case is more common than you'd think on grassy or very stony terrains.

If the jack is accidentally moved by a player, a spectator, an animal or any external element, the rules distinguish several situations depending on whether the movement is attributable to a team or not. In some of these cases, the jack is declared dead.

On an outdoor terrain, a puddle of water, a strong air current or an unforeseen obstacle can move the jack uncontrollably. If this movement takes it out of the valid area or makes it non-compliant, it is dead.

If the jack, after being moved, ends up inside or too close to the throwing circle, its position no longer allows regular play. The rules provide that this situation results in the jack being dead.

These 7 cases are the only ones that matter. If a player invokes a different reason to declare the jack dead, it's a house rule — not the official rules. In case of serious doubt, the umpire is the only legitimate authority to settle it. Our page umpiring videos illustrates several of these situations with concrete examples.

Live jack or dead jack: the decision flowchart

The most common confusion comes from a wrong reflex: believing that a jack that has moved is automatically dead. That's not the case. The jack can move, be touched, even move considerably far away — and remain perfectly valid if none of the 7 cases applies.

• Out of the terrain or in a forbidden zone
• Completely invisible from the circle (under the specified conditions)
• Outside the regulated distances (less than 6 m or more than 10 m)
• Not found after the official search time
• Moved by a third party under certain conditions
• Carried away by an unforeseen obstacle outside the valid area
• In the throwing circle area

• Moved by a bowl within the valid area
• Partially masked by a bowl
• In a difficult but accessible position
• Touched but still visible from the circle
• Far from the starting point but within the distances
• In a hollow or on a natural relief
• Wedged against a bowl or a natural obstacle

What happens when the jack is dead?

The consequence of a dead jack isn't always a cancelled end. It depends on the number of bowls remaining in each team at the moment the jack becomes dead.

The most common mistake is to systematically cancel the end without checking whether there are still bowls to play. If a team still had 2 bowls in hand at the moment the jack becomes dead, it scores 2 points — a dead end is not the right answer in this case.

The official 3-step procedure

As soon as doubt arises about the validity of the jack, there's only one course of action:

This procedure also applies to the hidden jack or masked jack — a special case that's worth knowing about separately, as partial visibility isn't enough to declare the jack dead.

Common mistakes on the terrain

• ✗Continuing to play when the jack is clearly out or unfound — the score becomes disputed and hard to correct afterwards.
• ✗Systematically cancelling the end when points should be awarded — it's penalising for the team that still had bowls.
• ✗Forgetting to count the remaining bowls before deciding on the consequence — yet it's the key criterion that determines everything.
• ✗Confusing a masked jack with a dead jack — a jack partially hidden by a bowl remains valid in the vast majority of cases.
• ✗Inventing an 8th case — "it's dead because it moved too much", "it's too far away now"... These justifications don't exist in the official rules.
• ✗Waiting until after the end to dispute — a dead jack not reported during the end will be very hard to uphold once the points have been counted.

The jack throw at the start of an end follows its own validity rules — distinct from the cases of nullity during an end. A jack invalidated from the outset (non-compliant throw, incorrect distance) is a different case from these 7 situations. The two articles complement each other.

FAQ — Your frequent questions

• 🔗 Official FIPJP Rules — fipjp.com
• 🔗 Official FFPJP Rules — full commented version on petanqueland.fr

© Pétanque by Paquita — petanqueland.fr
Content based on the official FIPJP rules. In case of doubt, always consult the official version in force.