France

What locals do:

Boules is a game that’s traditionally played with metallic balls on a dirt surface (as long as it’s flat and level!)  with a glass of pastis or wine at hand. Boules or la pétanque is played by around 20 million people in France. Anyone can easily learn to play and enjoy this ancient game (it is believed to originate from an ancient Greek game of tossing coins in about 6 B.C.). The purpose of the game is to win by throwing your balls to land closer to a small coloured ball called a cochonnet which literally means piglet, than those of your opponent.