After writing this review, I had a nice messge from the developer pointing out that it is possible to teleport by using thumbstick to choose a teleport location and trigger to actually teleport. You can teleport when it's your turn to see how the boules are positioned which is really useful. So that's good, but I hadn't worked it out. This game does need a tutorial

BOULE PETANQUE: I know this game, in real life, has several different names, but I will be referring to ‘boules’ during this review. I have only played single player. If I get to play multiplayer, I will update this review.
NOTE: I tried to add this review to the Oculus website but couldn't see a link. I will try again.

I bought this game a couple of evenings ago through App Lab. I like it very much and it has a lot of potential. There is a lot right with it, a few things wrong with it – and a lot of improvements that could be made if the developer has the time and incentive.

I would like to point out that I tried to join the discord group using the invite link in the description - http://discord.boulepetanque.com – but was told that the invite was invalid. I would have welcomed the chance to enter into a dialogue with the developer, but that didn’t happen.

The setting is delightful. A village square in rural France, bordered by a café with chairs and tables under an awning on one side and ancient castle wall on the other. An iconic French automobile sits in the corner (a Citroen?). Birds sing in the trees and the sound of running water comes from (I presume) a stream or moat behind a short wall. When the game loads up, the player is standing under the awning of the café. It would be nice to sit here for a while, with a glass of wine or beer or a coffee on the table, listening to the birds. It would also be nice if there was more ambient noise – snatches of conversation from the cafe, a radio playing French music, the odd car in the distance, a dog barking, the sound of small plane overhead that you only ever seem to hear in the Summer. These would be simple audio touches that would bring the square to life. It would also be nice if there was more happening in the square – a few birds flying over, a cat creeping about. There are a few bottles of beer on the tables – but not on the table by your side – so you can’t pretend you’re enjoying a cold Kronenbourg. It would be really nice to sit with someone in multiplayer for a chat before or after a game. Unfortunately, the view of the square is blocked by the game menu –a large white board offering single player or multiplayer options. If we could dismiss or minimise this, the view of the square would be pleasant.

I’ve spent too long on what is basically the menu screen but how does the actual game play? Well, I only played the single player game. I clicked the Quick Game option but the game paused while it tried to find someone else online. It didn’t but I wasn’t surprised by that as it is a new game and I doubt many people have downloaded it. I didn’t wait long, as there was no option to have a single player game while it searched. I also tried the “Play with a Friend” option, but it again tried to find a friend and couldn’t find any. That was certainly because none of my Oculus Friends were online or have the game yet, but it didn’t tell me it couldn’t find anyone from my Friends list. When you start a single player game, you start in the centre of the square and you are matched against an opponent – so you can have a game and not just practice throwing. The opponent is a short, stumpy robot who dispenses the jack and the boules. He is a bit retro looking and not super shiny but looks like a robot you’d find in French rural town – if that makes sense. You can’t move about the square, as far as I could tell. Even though a teleport arc comes up, you can’t actually teleport. The game trailer implies you can move about so I may have been doing something wrong or that’s just in multiplayer. Anyway, the robot dispenses the boules and jack which float above its ‘head’ and you can grab them, as you would expect, with the grip button. The game is playable with just one controller. Unfortunately, although you have ‘hands’, the touch controller is visible in your hand which is very non-immersive. Also, the hand is Caucasian with no option to change skin tone - which may or may not be important to you. Throwing the jack and the boules is tricky at first and takes a good strong throw – but you do get the hang of it. I’ve only played boules a few times in my life and never with ‘proper’ metal boules, so I can’t say how realistic the physics are, but I had fun when I got used to it. The boules make a good sound when they hit each other, but I couldn’t hear any noise as they hit the ground.

The ambient audio while you’re playing is quite muted – I had to turn the volume up high to hear the birds clearly and could only hear the stream at top volume. The robot, however, is quite noisy. It creaks as it bends and straightens and makes a loud zing noise when it dispenses a jack or ball, and a loud pop when it ‘throws’ a boule. I found it detracted from the pleasant ambience of the square.

I was very confused when I first played. There is no tutorial or attempt to explain the rules of boules. I had difficulty figuring out why it was my turn or the robot’s turn – and the scoring system wasn’t explained either. I found it frustrating. It took me about a half hour of gameplay to realise that my boules are light grey and robot’s boules are a slightly darker grey. I eventually turned to YouTube – I recommend this video https://youtu.be/IjmLFKlVHlk, though there are plenty others on YouTube.

The game consists of several rounds until one player reaches thirteen points. During the round, there is no option to look at the placement of the boules close up or overhead, to help with the next throw. At the end of the round, there is a short pause before the boules are cleared for the next round. Again, no chance to look at the placement of the balls close up.

The robot is a good player, often throwing very accurate boules on his first throw. I knew straightaway I would lose that round. There is no option to choose an easy or beginner difficulty level.

All in all, this is a good game. It needs a lot of polish. The following needs attention now. - It needs a lot more ambient sounds for immersion – and the volume of sounds needs to be higher or selectable. - Tone down the robot’s noises. - The robot is too good a player. Let us choose difficulty levels please. - Make the menu dismissible so I can enjoy the view from the café before I play or while I wait for multiplayer (and let me sit and have a drink on the table next to me – and let me sit there with a friend, too). - Let me move about the square to look at the layout of the boules before I throw. - A simple tutorial or, at least, a set of rules so that the player knows what’s happening. - Get rid of the touch controllers in the players hands – and give a choice of skin tone for inclusivity.

In the future, more locations would be amazing. Playing on a beach, in a busy French town, on a campsite, an indoor ‘professional’ rink or in Paris with the Eiffel Tower in the background (such as https://en.parisinfo.com/what-to-do-in-paris/info/guides/top-spots-to-play-boules-in-paris) are all possibilities. I’m sure the developer can think of others (and probably already has).

Also, although we do need selectable difficulty levels now - perhaps different robots with different colour and noises to add character - how about a campaign mode to beat the different robots in order of difficulty?

OK, for final thoughts. This a paid app – not a free demo or beta. Is it worth £3.99? Yes, I think so, even if only to support the developer to improve the game. If the game substantially improves, I would be happy to pay £7.99 for it. If it also has several additional locations, a campaign mode and perhaps some achievements and/or collectibles, I think £9.99 would be reasonable. I don’t think it would be worth more than that. Look at Forevr Bowl or Real VR Fishing – both amazing value at £14.99, or Walkabout Mini Golf at £10.99. No matter how much the game improves, I don’t think Boule Petanque can compete with those games at those prices, simply due to the simplicity of the actual sport itself. Obviously, a lot if its success will depend on its multiplayer, which I haven’t tried. I assume that multiplayer is limited to two people at the moment. (I could be wrong.) Boules, in real life can be played in teams, so four players in teams of two would be an amazing option.

I highly encourage the developer to carry on with this game. I can imagine this being very popular with older players – like myself – or those with small spaces to play in (I happily played it in a stationary guardian) or those with a disability as it can be played sitting down and one-handed. (A left-handed option with the robot on that side would be good.) I can see myself playing this with my grandchildren as I bore them about my holidays in France as a boy.

It’s a gentle and calming game (once the rules are explained) and I can see this being popular with multiplayer leagues set up in Discord – like with Pro Putt, Blaston and Walkabout Mini Golf.

A final word for the developer: First, please, fix the Discord link. Second, this is a very impressive start to the game. I’m sure you don’t need me to tell you what needs to be improved – and I bet you have a lot of good ideas I haven’t even thought about. Please continue with this. I look forward to good things.

Four stars at the moment: Five stars definitely reachable.