Hikone Carom is the variety of Carrom that is played in Japan. There are some key differences between Hikone Carrom and Carrom. --The standard board size is 60cm x 60cm, which makes it smaller than standard Carrom boards. --The pockets of a Hikone Carrom board are large quarter-circles, making the pockets bigger than in Carrom. --The strikers are wooden and are the same size as the pucks in Hikone Carom. --In initial set up, the pucks are arranged in a ring with the jack in the center. Description of the history of Hikone Carom from Wikipedia: Carrom was introduced to Japan in the last years of the Meiji period or Taishō period by someone from the UK and in the early Shōwa period by someone from the USA. In the middle Shōwa period, carrom was called "fighting ball board" or "tossing ball board" (闘球盤 or 投球盤, tōkyūban?) and was a popular board game throughout Japan. Carrom gradually lost popularity, but is still played in Hikone, Shiga. In Hikone, carrom is called karomu (カロム?) and many homes have their own carrom boards and use derivative rules. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrom#Japanese_carrom)