Crokinole is a game that can be traced as far back as 1876 when rockstar dad Eckhardt Wettlaufer from Perth County, Ontario, Canada crafted the earliest known Crokinole board for his son, Adam’s fifth birthday. Not only did Adam receive the sweetest birthday gift from his dad-of-the-year, but the rest of the world won as well, because here we are, over 140 years later and we’re still enjoying this Canadian classic the world over!

But here in the states, the love of Crokinole is only just starting to get attention, and we want to help spread the news about this truly fantastic game.

How Do You Play?

Crokinole is a wonderfully simple game to learn. It can be played with 2, 3, or 4 players, but for today, I’ll just go over the two player rules quickly.

Each player grab 12 discs in their chosen color and sit across from one another. 

In a standard game, your goal is to be the first to get to 100 points.

During a round, players will take turns alternating valid shots from the outer ring until all 12 of their discs have been shot. Then points are tallied, and then another round begins.

The Board

The Crokinole board is made up of two distinct areas, the main board where the game is played and scored, and the very outer part of the board known as the ditch.

The main board is broken up into four quadrants and four scoring regions, The center hole is worth 20 points, the center ring 15, middle ring 10, and outer ring 5. Any disc that is on the line separating the regions, even by just a fraction, is scored in the lower section. Any discs that sit on the outer most line of the board are considered off the board and removed from play and placed in the ditch. 

Taking a shot

All shots are taken from the outer line, (the line closest to the ditch.) with a players disc remaining within their quadrant. You cannot stand up to move around the board to take a shot. In fact, in the official rules, it states that you must keep “one cheek” firmly placed on your chair at all times. (This is a genius rule we have since implemented in all of our games.)

When none of your opponents discs are on the board, you must try to flick your disc into the center ring. If you successfully get your disc in the center ring, it may stay on the board. If you happen to get it into the center hole, you remove it from the center, placing it into the 20s cup. (Points are not calculated until the end of the round.)

However, if you were unsuccessful and did not get your disc into the center ring when none of your opponent’s discs are on the board, you must place that disc in the ditch.

When your opponent does have a disc on the board, you must make contact with at least one of their discs in order for your disc to stay on the board. If you fail to make contact with their disc, your disc is placed in the ditch and removed from play. If you hit one or more of your own discs and still fail to make contact with your opponents disc, then the disc that you shot and all of the discs that you touched are removed from play.

Scoring

When all players have shot all 12 discs, players count their scores within each scoring region, including any 20s that were successfully achieved. You then subtract the smaller score from the larger score. The player with the larger score wins the difference and records that for the round. 

Example: Adam scores 40, Kelsey scores 55. Kelsey wins the difference of 15 points.

Then another round begins. Play as many rounds as necessary until a player reaches 100!

What Do We Think?

I wish everyone could play Crokinole! This is an instant, timeless classic for our home and I know we’ll be enjoying it for years to come.

Crokinole feels more like pool or shuffle board than it does a classic dexterity board game, but since you play it on the table, it gets to claim tabletop game as well. As both Adam and myself love to play games like this with our friends and family but lack the space in our home to provide a spot for something so large, we knew Crokinole was the way to go. 

And boy were we thrilled upon our first play!

Crokinole is a blast to play, providing all of your favorite game moments in one experience.

It’s easy to teach to new players, even those who don’t like board games. There are plenty of “Wow! What a shot!” moments for you all to enjoy together, almost always followed by abysmal shots that have you wondering how you lost your mojo so quickly. Scoring is simple and the strategy and skill required to get a win keep you coming back again and again for another game. And because Crokinole involves a fair bit of skill, after you play it multiple times, you’ll begin to improve you shots, know where to aim, and enjoy the satisfaction of seeing your abilities improve. 

We joke that this is the tabletop gaming sport. Because, in a way, it really feels like a sport! After a few games, you’ll start dreaming of getting good enough to enter your local Crokinole tournament!

While players with multiple games of Crokinole under their belts will probably have a leg up on newbies, you’ll be shocked at how quickly people pick this game up and get good at playing. And since you can play up to four, if you invite a couple friends over, just split up your experience between the teams and have at it!

Okay, But Where Do You Store It?

This game is big and due to its size, a bit awkward to store. Do you lay it on the floor? Keep it in the box? Tuck it behind the game shelf?

One of the biggest reasons we wanted to go with a heirloom looking board, stemmed from the desire to display the game on the wall. I had this spot on our living room wall where I’d wanted to put a unique art piece for a while but could never find something that felt like us. The moment I saw the board, I knew this was the perfect thing for the space. While our board comes wall ready on the back, I was concerned for whichever kid would be the one that jostled it just wrong and sent it crashing down. So we grabbed these wall mounting brackets from Crokinole Canada when ordering the board and they are perfect.

They cradle the board securely against the wall while also making it way easy to take down and put away for play. And incase you’re wondering, yes, the kids have bumped into it and the brackets held it firm!

Even better, the board never fails to draw eyes from our guests. Everyone always asks what it is, and once they learn it’s a game, they all want to play! I absolutely love that it invites this fun, welcoming experience into our home for our guests!

Where to Buy a Board?

We purchased our board before we had ever played even a single game. We just saw a video of it and knew instantly: this was something our family was going to love. 

I specifically wanted to purchase a board that was high quality because I had a hunch this was something that we were going to be playing with our kids (and hopefully grandkids) for years to come. Crokinole has this heirloom feel to it and I wanted our board to reflect that. 

So we chose to go with one of the beautiful boards from Crokinole Canada.

We selected the Crokinole Master – Tournament Size Crokinole Board. 

I absolutely loved the octagon shape, it felt even more classic in its design and unique compared to the common circle. I also love the more simple face design, with the diamond arrows creating your dividing markers rather than the standard straight lines. Combine that with the light wood tone (though I drooled over the darker stains as well and seriously couldn’t decide for a couple days) it had this beautiful hand made feel to it that made my heart swoon. 

The biggest selling feature for us on this style was the hidden disc storage on the backside. Being able to have the discs stored right inside the board makes it a breeze to play the game whenever the fancy strikes us. 

Oh, and I almost forgot! In the ditch of our board is a scoring tracker! It came with these lovely little metal pegs to keep track with and we just love it all so much

There are so many different styles, no matter what you’re looking for in your board, you’ll most likely be able to find it. You can even have it customized!

The Cost

Crokinole is going to set you back a bit more than your average board game. But again, I don’t really consider this a board game, but more like I would a shuffle board table, so it’s considerably less expensive than that.

At about $350 dollars (factoring in shipping costs from Canada) this was definitely a purchase we spent some time discussing and saving for. I wanted one built to last. A big fear of mine was the thought of buying a “cheap” mass market board only to have it wear down and have to shell out for a better board anyway. With Christmas and Adam’s birthday (a fitting gift for a guy named Adam, obviously) right around the same time, we called it a family gift and just went for it. Every time I pass it gleaming on our wall I’m so happy we did, too.

If that price makes you cringe, don’t worry, Crokinole Canada also sells many other boards that are priced much lower than ours, like this beauty! And there are other retailers available that also offer boards at lower price values as well. But with our experience buying our board from Crokinole Canada and the amazing customer service we received, I can’t recommend them and their products highly enough! 

We’ve Got a Special Offer Just for You!

In fact! When writing this review, I reached out to Ted over at Crokinole Canada and asked if they’d be willing to give a special offer for our readers and he agreed!

When checking out with a cart over $75, enter THETABLETOPFAMILY into your Order Notes and they’ll send you a free set of Red and Blue Discs in addition to your order! Trust me, you’re going to want an extra set too, because you’ll for sure be playing this with 3 and 4 players!

If you already have a board, they still have some great items for you! Like this amazing Meinl carrying case. We have a Meinl case for board games (this one) and absolutely love it so we definitely want to pick this case up to transport our Crokinole Board for family gatherings.

Summary

If you’ve been on the fence about Crokinole, we highly recommend that you jump off and get playing! It’s also a wonderful option for households who are short on space and looking for a fun, pub-like game that won’t take over their whole living space.

Crokinole is truly a great family game of fun and skill that is bound to delight your crew for years. This is our number one go-to when we’re looking for something fun to play when family and friends come over.

Both casual and competitive, it’s connects with everyone!

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