Bagatelle is a billiards-derived indoor table game named after the Chateau de Bagatelle, where it is said to have debuted at a party held for Louis XVI in 1777. Players use a cue to strike a set of balls, historically nine of them, sending them down a narrow table past wooden pins that act as obstacles and into numbered holes guarded by pegs, with penalties incurred if a peg is knocked over. The game spread across Europe as a parlor and pub amusement and is a direct ancestor of pinball, which grew out of coin-operated bagatelle tables in the twentieth century.
Facts
Sport
Game Type (category) Sources
1. Bagatelle (Wikipedia)
Lead
a billiards-derived indoor table game, the object of which is to get a number of balls ... past wooden pins ... into holes that are guarded by wooden pegs
France section
In 1777, a party was thrown in honour of Louis XVI and the queen at the Château de Bagatelle, recently erected at great expense by the king's brother, the Count of Artois. Bagatelle from Italian bagattella, signifies 'a trifle', 'a decorative thing'. The highlight of the party was a new table game featuring a slender table and cue sticks, which players used to shoot ivory balls up an inclined playfield.
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