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The 8 skittles game

"Le jeu de quilles de huit"
French B1 writing exercise

Learn about this French version of a classic sport.

Here's a short video to see what "les quilles de huit" look like! 

Pay attention to the hints!

Some vocabulary you may want to look up before or during this exercise: "a version", "a skittles game", "a temple", "to be part of", "France's Intangible Cultural Heritage", "a registered player (sport in France)", "the 8-skittles (game)", "clay (playing field)", "a skittle", "wooden", "a support (object)", "with the help of [something]", "to strike", "to make [something] fall", "a game (match)".

Written by qualified French expert Céline Pickard PGCE, BA
Last updated: 2023-01-04

I’ll give you some sentences to translate into French

  • I’ll show you where you make mistakes
  • I’ll keep track of what you need to practise
  • Change my choices if you want
Start the exercise
How the test works
You’ll practise: Le Présent (Indicatif), Préposition, Pronom réfléchi

Here's a preview of the text for the writing challenge, when you're ready click the start button above:

Do you know this version of the traditional skittles game? It is very popular in the Aveyron region in France, which is the temple of this unique sport. Since 2012, the game has been part of France's Intangible Cultural Heritage and nowadays, it has 4,500 registered players all over France. But how does one play 8 skittles? This game takes place on clay. We place eight big wooden skittles on small supports or "taquets", with the help of a big wooden ball, we strike the ninth skittle - which is called "le quillou" - in order to make the other skittles fall. Let's play a game!

Clever stuff happening!