Book Cricket
The game from the back bench, played properly. Open a book, read the page number, and the last digit is your ball. No app, no sign-up — the book is right here.
How to play book cricket
Book cricket needs one textbook and nothing else. You open it at random and look at the page number. The last digit decides what happened to that ball. Keep opening, keep a running score, and you have a match.
| Last digit | Result |
|---|---|
| 0 | Out — you lose a wicket |
| 2 | Two runs |
| 4 | Four runs |
| 6 | Six runs |
| 8 | Dot ball — no run |
Only even digits appear because a book always falls open on a two-page spread: the left-hand page is even, the right-hand page odd. Reading the left page is what most people did, and it is what this game does.
Everyone's house rules were different
There is no governing body for book cricket, which is why no two classrooms agreed. The clearest example is the 8. Compare the three book cricket sites that exist today and all three score it differently:
- 8 as a dot ball — no run, which is how this site plays it
- 8 as eight runs — the digit taken at face value
- 8 as three runs — a compromise you still find in parts of India
Other common variations: some played that 5 was out rather than 0, some counted the right-hand page, some banned thin books because the odds skewed, and almost everyone had a rule about what happened if the book fell shut.
Every version of the book cricket rules, compared →
Formats
Pick a side from ten countries, choose 3, 7 or 11 players, and play 3, 5 or 10 overs. A side has one fewer wicket than it has players, so a three-a-side game gives you two wickets and no room at all. Six balls to an over. The innings ends on wickets or overs, whichever comes first.
The toss decides who bats. Set a target and defend it, or chase one down.
Play a friend
Book cricket was always two people and one book. Choose a friend, and you get a link to send. They open it, chase your score, and send one back. Nothing to install and no account — the whole match travels in the link.
Where the game came from
Book cricket belongs to Indian and subcontinental classrooms, played through the dull end of a lesson with whatever textbook was open. It needed no equipment, no space and no permission, which is exactly why it survived decades and why nearly everyone who sat through school in India can still tell you their rules for it.
Questions
How do you play book cricket?
Open a book at a random page and read the page number. The last digit is your ball: 0 is out, 2, 4 and 6 are runs, and 8 is a dot ball. Keep going until you lose your wickets or run out of overs.
Why are only even numbers used?
A book opens on a spread of two pages. The left-hand page is always even and the right-hand page odd, so whichever side you agree to read gives you five possible digits, not ten.
Is 8 out or a dot ball?
It depends entirely on who taught you. This site plays 8 as a dot ball. Others count it as eight runs, and some as three. None of them is more correct than the others.
Can I play book cricket against a friend?
Yes. Bat your innings, then send the link the game gives you. Your friend opens it, sees your target and chases it. No sign-up is needed for either of you.
Is it free?
Yes, completely, with no account and no ads.
Scroll up to play.