Play Shuffleboard

Shuffleboard refers to several games that require players to push weighted disks to marked locations on a playing surface, either on a table, deck, or court. Shuffleboard can be played with the whole family or with friends, drinks in hand. Whatever way you play, follow the rules listed below for shuffleboard in all of its many variations.

Steps

Playing Table Shuffleboard

  1. Assemble the players at the shuffleboard. Shuffleboard tables, commonly found in bars, have a polished wood surface and range from 12 to 22 feet (3.6 to 6.6 m) in length. The table's height is usually 30 inches (75 cm) and its width is 20 inches (50 cm). Lines are drawn 6 and 12 inches (15 and 30 cm) from the far end. A foul line is drawn 6 feet (1.8 m) from the far end; disks must cross this line without falling off the table to be eligible to score points.[1]
  2. Give each player or team four weighted metal disks. The discs should be marked to distinguish one side's pieces from the other side's pieces; however, the disks are usually marked with red or blue. There are only two sides; players play solo or in teams of two.
  3. Decide who starts. Toss a coin to determine which team goes first.
  4. Have players or teams alternate sliding their disks across the table until all disks are cast. Players may try to knock their opponents' disks off the table. When playing table shuffleboard in teams, however, players may also try to knock their partner's disks into a higher scoring area.
  5. Score the disks. Only the player or team whose disks are furthest down the table scores points, and only those disks further down than the opponent's disk furthest down score. If a disk hangs over the far end of the table, it scores 4 points. If a disk crosses the far line without hanging over the far end, it scores 3 points. If a disk crosses the nearer scoring line, it scores 2 points. If a disk crosses the foul line, but no other lines, it scores 1 point.[1]
    • If the disk touches or crosses any of the lines, it scores the value of the lower scoring area. Thus, if a disk has crossed the 3-point line but is still touching it, it scores only 2 points.
    • In some versions of table shuffleboard, a less skilled player scores 1 more point for a hanger or crossing the lines than a more skilled opponent does.
  6. Retrieve the disks and start again. Some table shuffleboard games play from only one end, while others play from either end. Whichever player or team won the last turn starts the next turn. In a 2-player game, the first player to either 11 or 15 points wins. In a team game, the first team to 21 points wins.

Playing Outdoor Shuffleboard

  1. Assemble the players at the shuffleboard court. Outdoor shuffleboard features a 52-foot-long (15.6 m-long) rectangular court with a triangular scoring area at either end.[2]
  2. Give each player or team 4 wooden disks and a cue. Disks are in 2 colors, usually yellow and black, with a diameter of 6 inches (15 cm) and a thickness from 9/16 to 1 inch (1.4 to 2.5 cm). The cue is a pole no longer than 6 1/2 feet (2 m), with a U-shaped prong on the pushing end.
  3. Have the players or teams alternate sliding their disks across the court until all disks are cast. Starting with the player playing yellow, players place their disks in the "10-off" section of the scoring area on their end of the court on their turn and shoot toward the opposite scoring triangle.
    • The yellow player's disks are launched on the left side of the court, and the black player's disks are launched from the right side. A player's cue cannot push past the scoring area when shooting a disk. Disks must cross the "dead line" 3 feet (0.9 m) in front of the opposite scoring area but must not hang off the edge of the court; disks that fail to cross or that hang are removed from the court.
    • As in table shuffleboard, players try to knock their disks into the higher scoring areas and their opponents into lower scoring areas or out of play entirely.
  4. Score the disks. The triangular scoring area in outdoor shuffleboard is divided into 6 sections; a disk must be entirely inside one of these sections to score points. A disk in the apex of the triangle scores 10 points, a disk in either of the 2 areas behind the apex scores 8 points, and a disk in either of the 2 areas behind the 8-point areas scores 7 points. A disk that lands in the "10-off" section deducts 10 points from the score of the player or team who owns the disk.[3]
    • Unlike table shuffleboard, outdoor shuffleboard assesses penalties for rules infractions. A disk that touches the 10-off area line before being played costs a player 5 points; if it touches one of the triangle's sides, the penalty is instead 10 points. Ten-point penalties are also assessed for the player's body crossing the baseline while playing or shooting an opponent's disk. Illegally played disks are removed from the court, and any of the opponent's disks displaced by an illegally played disks are given back to the opponent to replay.
  5. Alternate sliding disks from either end of the court until one side wins. Whichever side reaches a score of 75 or more after all disks are played in a turn wins.

Playing Deck Shuffleboard

  1. Assemble the players at the deck shuffleboard court. Deck shuffleboard has 2 oval scoring areas, each 6 feet (1.8 m) in length, spaced 30 feet (9 m) apart. There are lines in front of and behind each scoring area; the inside lines are called "Lady's lines" and the outside lines are called "Gentleman's lines.
  2. Give each side 4 wooden disks and a cue. The disks are the same size as in outdoor shuffleboard and marked in 2 separate colors. The cues are similar to those in outdoor shuffleboard, although the shooting section, or "shoe," consists of a semicircle cut into a rectangular piece of wood.
    • Players may play in teams of 2, with one player playing one end of the court and the other the other end.
  3. Decide who starts. This is usually done with a coin toss, as in table shuffleboard.
  4. Have the players alternate in sliding their disks across the court until all disks are cast. Players stand behind the Gentleman's line when shooting. During play, players can try to knock their opponent's disks out of the scoring area or off the court.
    • Any disks that fail to cross the Lady's line are taken off the court.
  5. Score the disks. Disks score points according to where in the scoring area they land, as long as they are completely inside that scoring area.
    • The center of the scoring area consists of 9 squares labeled with the numbers 1 through 9, arranged in the format of a magic square; any line of 3 numbers adds to 15. The semicircle furthest from the players scores 10 points for any disk landing in it, while the semicircle nearest the players deducts 10 points for any disk landing in it.
  6. Alternate sliding disks from either end of the court until one side wins. Whichever side reaches a score of either 50 or 100 first, wins.

Playing Shovelboard

  1. Prepare the playing surface. Shuffleboard is played on a table 20 to 30 feet (6 to 9 m) long and 3 feet (0.9 m) wide. At either end, scoring lines are drawn at 4 inches (10 cm) and 4 feet (1.2 m) from the end.[4]
  2. Give each player 4 weighted metal disks. Each player's disks should be marked in some way to distinguish them from the other players' disks.
  3. Decide who starts. For 2 players, toss a coin. If there are more than 2 players, choose another method with an equal outcome.
  4. Have players alternate sliding their disks across the table until all disks have been cast. A disk must cross one of the lines without falling off the table.
    • Once a player has slid a disk across the table, it becomes a target for the other players, who can knock that disk off the table and replace it with their own disk.
  5. Score the disks. A disk that hangs over the far end of the table scores 3 points, a disk on or across the far line scores 2 points, and a disk on or across the near line scores 1 point. If none of the disks have crossed a line, the disk closest to the near line scores 1 point. Add the scores to the players' previous scores.[5]
  6. Alternate sliding disks from either end of the table until 1 player wins. Whoever scored the most points on the last turn starts the next turn. The first player to score 11 wins.
    • If there are more than 2 players, the winning score can be higher than 11.

Tips

  • When shooting a disk or puck in either shuffleboard or table shuffleboard, keep your movements as smooth as possible. Grip the disk between your thumb and forefinger and slide the disk forward with your arm and wrist toward your target. You may want to slide your middle and ring fingers behind the disk as you shoot to help guide the shot.

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 http://www.mccluretables.com/t-shuffleboard_game_rules.aspx
  2. ↑ http://www.sportsknowhow.com/shuffleboard/dimensions/shuffleboard-court-dimensions.html
  3. ↑ http://national-shuffleboard-association.us/rules.htm
  4. ↑ http://www.mastersgames.com/rules/shuffleboard-rules.htm
  5. ↑ http://www.tradgames.org.uk/games/ShovelBoard.htm

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