I have no idea what Karambolage means. Phentically it seems to be derived from Carrom, the Indian game where wooden discs are flicked across a playing surface by the player's finger. The basic concept of propelling discs across the playing surface is maintained in Karambolage, but the similarities end there.
The game is marketed in the U.S. by TC Timber, a children's toy company. Karambolage fits into their product line because of the wooden equipment and simplicity of play. The rules are simple enough than a child can enjoy it, but it also makes a fine beer and pretzels game for adults.
You'll need a smooth playing surface such as a wood table. An arena is marked off by stretching the supplied rope into a square with the aid of four wooden blocks threaded onto the rope. All gameplay takes place within this boundary, and if any pieces ever make contact with it the player's turn is forfeit. Six colored discs are distributed haphazardly inside the arena. On a player's turn a pair of colored dice are rolled. The player must propel the disc matching the color rolled on one die into the disc matching the other die's color.
The means of propulsion is a small string. By grasping the string with both hands, holding it slack behind a disc, then pulling it taut, a disc can be shot across the arena. If the disc hits its target, the player scores a point— as long as no other discs were touched and nothing hit (our bounced over) the arena's bounding cord.
And so, in the spirit of the $64,000 Question, the player must choose whether to end his turn and bank his point, or risk it and take another turn. A player may continue as long as he scores points, but if he fails he loses everything he gained during the turn. The first person to reach ten points wins.
Two unusual situations can arise during play. First, if the same color is rolled on both dice, the player earns an instant point and rolls again. Second, it can happen that the two rolled colors are blocked by other discs and have no direct path between them. For such cases, the player may place a wooden block into the arena and bank his shot off of that.
It takes a little practice to get the hang of using the string. You're apt to fling the disc too far or overcompensate and barely move the disc at all. It's not hard to catch on, though, and soon you'll be banking shots the length of the arena. This isn't a game you'll play for hours at a time, as it quickly becomes repetitive. But as an evening closer or a filler while waiting for something else to happen, or something to take out at Thanksgiving or other family events, you may find Karambolage to be a pleasant diversion.