Monthly Archives: March 2014

Smartphone apps for measuring

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updated 2023-07-08

Many players carry smart phones and they are naturally interested in using a smartphone app for measuring. An umpire won’t use a smartphone app in an FIPJP-sanctioned competition, but of course you can use one in friendly games. (See also our post on Measuring boule to jack.)

There are several questions that can be asked about any measuring technology.

  1. How quickly can a measurement be made?
  2. How likely are you to accidentally move a boule or jack when using it?
  3. How accurate is it?
  4. How easy is it to use?
  5. How expensive is it? How much does it cost?

For players that already own a smartphone, the cost of an app is essentially zero. For players with knee, back, eyesight, or stability issues, a smartphone can let you measure without squatting or getting down on your knees. And of course an app can make measurements quickly with no risk of touching or moving boules or jack. This leaves only the issue of accuracy. In general, the newer apps seem to be much more accurate than they were a few years ago. Still, our recommendation is to test an app before you trust it. For a while, measure with the app AND an umpires ruler, and compare the results.

To find an app, you can simply Google smartphone measuring app petanque. A few petanque measuring apps that we think might be worth considering are—

Who has the point? A qui le point?

Metre Petanque

Petanque BoulOmeter (iOS and Android)

Booble (iOS and Android) (free) gives you the distances in numbers and tells you which boule is closest and the next and next etc.  There is a neat short video showing how it works HERE.

Tape Measure for Pétanque (iOS and Android) shows circles and numbers the boules sequentially by distance from the jack. It can be set up so that it automatically takes a picture when the phone is completely level. Tape Measure for Pétanque is the personal choice of one of our players, and it seems to be precise and accurate— every time that I have doubted it, and measured with my umpires ruler, it was correct.

Share your experiences
If you’ve been using a smartphone app, and have something useful to say about it, leave us a comment (below) and share your experiences. Other players that are looking at this new technology will be interested.