What is crokinole?
Crokinole is a tabletop flicking game from 1800s rural Ontario. Think of it as shuffleboard meets curling, played on a round wooden board with small buttons. Players take turns flicking buttons toward the center to score — and knocking each other's buttons out of the way.
It's played by two people head-to-head (singles) or four people as two teams (doubles), with partners sitting across from each other. A game takes about 20–30 minutes.
How a round works
Take your buttons
In singles each player has 12 buttons; in doubles each player has 6. One side plays light buttons, the other dark.
Shoot from your quarter
Place a button on the outer shooting line inside your quarter of the board and flick it with one finger. Stay seated — no reaching around the board.
Hit, or land in the middle
If an opponent's button is on the board, your shot must hit one (directly or by bouncing off your own button). If there are none, your button has to come to rest inside the 15 ring.
Miss? It's gone
A shot that breaks the rule is removed, along with any of your own buttons it hit. Any button knocked into the ditch is out of play for the round.
Score the round
When all buttons are played, add up each side. A button touching a line scores the lower value. Only the side with more points scores — the difference between the two totals.
Points at a glance
20 points
A button that drops cleanly into the center hole. It's taken out right away and counted as a 20.
15 points
Inside the inner ring guarded by the eight pegs.
10 points
Between the 15 ring and the middle line.
5 points
Between the middle line and the outer shooting line.
Casual games usually go to 100 points. Tournaments, including ours, often play a fixed number of rounds or a time limit instead.
Tips from the club
Soft and steady
Most shots need far less power than you'd think. A smooth, consistent flick beats a hard one.
Hide behind pegs
A button tucked behind a peg is hard to hit. Use the pegs as shields.
Know when to bail
Sometimes the best shot is a safe "takeout" that leaves your shooter on the board instead of a risky 20.
Ask for a lesson
Every regular at play night is happy to show you their grip and favorite shots.