white cue ball is given to the starting player, who may place it anywhere on the head side of the table (without disturbing the pins)—i.e., anywhere unobstructed between the and the . The red object ball is placed at the (i.e., the intersection of the and the . The yellow (or spotted white) cue ball of the opponent is placed on the long string, in a position that can be labelled the "foot rail spot", 10 cm (approx. 4 in) from the . As the name implies, the game makes use of five upright pins called skittles in English (so-called since at least 1634), birilli (singular birillo) in Italian and quillas in Spanish, which look like miniature bowling pins, tall, and with round, flat-bottomed bases. There are traditionally four white pins, and one red. The red pin is placed on the (the exact middle of the table both lengthwise and widthwise), and the four white pins are placed equidistant from the red in a square diamond pattern around it. Two whites are aligned along the center string with the and s, as well as the rail diamonds in the center of the head and foot rails, and with the red object ball, and red pin. Meanwhile, the other two whites are placed on the , aligned with the diamonds in the center of the long rails, and again with the red pin. The whites are spaced just far enough away from the red that a cue ball can pass between the pins without touching any of them. The final pattern looks like a plus sign. This arrangement of pins on the table is referred to as the "castle". Tables have the precise castle positions for the pins, and for the starting positions of the balls, permanently marked, as they must be placed back into position before every shot if any have been knocked over or moved. Each player uses a cue stick to shoot the appropriate cue ball; average cue length is 140 cm (about 55 in.) A () may be used to reach long shots. Rules Though there are variants in Central and South America, the Italian five-pins rules are the best codified. Because the Italian-rules championships organized by the Italian Federation of Billiard Sport (FIBiS) are international, televised events, and often hosted outside of Italy, the FIBiS rules are the global de facto standard, and have been incorporated