Crokinole: The Canadian Disc-Flicking Game That Deserves a Place on Every Table

Introduction

Crokinole is a Canadian dexterity board game in which players flick small wooden discs across a polished circular board, aiming to land them in the highest-scoring concentric rings near the centre. The board features four scoring zones — 5, 10, 15, and 20 points — with a small recessed hole at the very centre worth the maximum 20. It sounds simple, and the basics can be learned in two minutes, but the game’s combination of precision flicking, tactical decision-making, and the ruthless contact rule creates a dexterity experience that has captivated players for over 150 years.

Crokinole originated in southern Ontario, Canada, in the 1870s, among communities of Mennonite and Amish settlers who valued handcrafted wooden games. The oldest known crokinole board, dated 1876, was made by Eckhardt Wettlaufer of Perth County, Ontario. The game spread through rural Canadian communities and became a beloved winter pastime — families gathered around the board after dinner, and friendly rivalries between farms and townships drove generations of play. Crokinole remained a primarily Canadian phenomenon for most of its history, but a renaissance beginning in the late 1990s brought it to international attention.

The founding of the World Crokinole Championship (WCC) in 1999 in Tavistock, Ontario was a turning point. This annual tournament drew media coverage and introduced the game to players from the United States, Europe, and beyond. The modern board game renaissance of the 2010s and 2020s further amplified crokinole’s reputation, with enthusiast publications and online communities consistently ranking it among the greatest tabletop games of all time. Today, handcrafted crokinole boards are prized possessions, and competitive play has spread to multiple countries.

The Board

A crokinole board is a thing of beauty — a large, round playing surface set within an octagonal wooden frame. Here are its key features:

• Playing surface diameter: approximately 66 cm (26 inches). The overall board, including the frame and gutter, is about 76–80 cm (30–31.5 inches) across.
• Concentric scoring rings: The playing surface is divided into four concentric regions by painted or inlaid lines:
  • Outer ring: 5 points
  • Middle ring: 10 points
  • Inner ring: 15 points
  • Centre hole: 20 points — a small recessed hole in the exact centre of the board, just large enough to accept a single disc.
• Posts (pegs): Eight small metal or wooden posts are positioned around the inner 15-point ring, evenly spaced. These posts act as obstacles, making it harder to reach the centre hole and creating ricochet angles that add depth to shot selection.
• Gutter (ditch): The area between the playing surface and the raised octagonal frame is the gutter. Discs that are knocked off the playing surface or that fail to meet the contact rule end up here. Discs in the gutter score 0 points.
• Quadrant lines: Four lines divide the outer ring into quadrants. Players must place their disc on the outer edge within their own quadrant before flicking. These lines also serve as shooting lines.
• Surface finish: The playing surface is polished smooth and often waxed with shuffleboard powder or crokinole wax to allow discs to glide with minimal friction. The surface quality is crucial — a well-maintained board enables precise, flowing shots.

High-quality boards are handcrafted from birch, maple, or Baltic birch plywood. Premium boards feature inlaid scoring lines, hardwood frames, and mirror-smooth playing surfaces. A tournament-quality crokinole board typically costs between €150 and €400, though artisan boards from renowned makers can exceed €1,000. The board is both a game and a piece of furniture — many players display theirs on walls when not in use.

Equipment: The Discs

Crokinole uses 24 wooden discs — 12 in each of two colours (typically natural and dark-stained, or two contrasting colours). Standard disc specifications:

• Diameter: approximately 32 mm (1.25 inches)
• Thickness: approximately 8–10 mm
• Weight: approximately 13–15 grams
• Material: hardwood (birch or maple), sanded smooth and sometimes waxed on the bottom for glide

In doubles play, each player receives 6 discs of their team’s colour. In singles, each player uses all 12 discs of their colour. Some sets include a few spare discs in case of loss or damage.

How to Play

1. Set up the board and distribute discs Place the crokinole board on a stable, level table. Each player (or team) sits on opposite sides of the board. In 4-player doubles, partners sit across from each other, not side by side. Each side receives 12 discs of one colour (6 per player in doubles). Apply a light dusting of shuffleboard powder or crokinole wax to the playing surface for optimal glide.
2. Understand the shooting position To shoot, place a disc flat on the playing surface within your quadrant — the section of the outer ring directly in front of you, between the two nearest quadrant lines. The disc must touch or overlap the outer scoring line (the boundary between the outer ring and the gutter). You may not place your disc inside the outer ring; it must start on the line or outside it.
3. Flick with one finger Using one finger (typically the index or middle finger), flick the disc toward the centre of the board. The standard technique is to curl your finger behind the disc, brace it against your thumb, and snap forward. Your flicking hand should rest on or near the board’s rail for stability. You must not push the disc — it must be a clean flick.
4. Open-board shots (no opponent discs on the playing surface) If no opponent discs are currently on the playing surface, your disc must come to rest in or touching the 15-point circle (the inner ring surrounding the centre hole). If it fails to reach this zone, it is removed from the board and placed in the gutter. This rule forces aggressive play toward the centre rather than safe, low-value placements.
5. Contact rule (opponent discs are on the board) If one or more opponent discs are on the playing surface, your flicked disc must contact at least one opponent disc — either directly or by ricocheting off your own discs into an opponent’s. If your disc fails to make contact with any opponent disc:
   • Your disc is removed from the board and placed in the gutter.
   • Any of your own discs that were moved by the shot are returned to their previous positions.
   • Any opponent discs that were moved (e.g., by your disc hitting your own disc which then hit an opponent’s disc — but only indirectly) remain where they ended up. However, if you failed to contact any opponent disc at all, only your own moved discs are restored.
6. Discs in the centre hole score 20 and are removed If a disc comes to rest completely inside the recessed centre hole, it scores 20 points and is immediately removed from the board and placed in the scoring tray of the player who shot it. A disc sitting on the rim of the hole is not a 20 — it scores based on the ring it is touching (usually 15). Only discs fully inside the hole count as 20s.
7. Alternate shots until all discs are played Players alternate flicking one disc at a time. In doubles, the shooting order rotates around the table: Player 1 (Team A), Player 2 (Team B), Player 3 (Team A’s partner), Player 4 (Team B’s partner), and so on. Continue until all 24 discs have been shot. This completes one round.
8. Score the round using cancellation scoring After all discs are played, score the round:
   • Count each team’s points based on where their discs rest: 5 (outer ring), 10 (middle ring), 15 (inner ring). Add 20 points for each disc that was removed into the scoring tray during the round.
   • A disc on a line between two regions scores the lower value.
   • Apply cancellation scoring: subtract the lower team’s total from the higher team’s total. Only the team with more points is awarded the difference. For example, if Team A has 55 points on the board and Team B has 40, Team A scores 15 points for the round.
9. Play to 100 points Clear the board, switch starting positions, and begin a new round. The team that did not start the previous round shoots first. Continue accumulating points across rounds until one team reaches 100 points (or another agreed-upon target). That team wins the match.

The Contact Rule Explained

The contact rule is the defining mechanic that elevates crokinole from a simple target game into a strategic masterpiece. Its implications are profound:

• No hiding. You cannot simply park your discs in safe positions and wait. If the opponent has any disc on the board, you must engage with it. This creates constant interaction and prevents passive play.
• Offensive and defensive simultaneously. Every shot must consider both scoring (landing your disc in a high-value ring) and contact (hitting an opponent’s disc). The best shots accomplish both — knocking an opponent’s disc into the gutter while your disc settles into the 15- or 20-point zone.
• Ricochets count. You can satisfy the contact rule by hitting your own disc into an opponent’s disc. This opens up complex multi-disc combination shots that reward creative thinking and precise execution.
• Penalty for failure. If you miss all opponent discs, you lose your disc and any of your own discs that moved are reset. This means a failed contact shot can actually cost you more than just the disc you shot — it can undo a previous good position.
• Strategic implications. When you knock all opponent discs off the board, the next shot becomes an open-board shot (must reach the 15 zone). This creates a tactical consideration: sometimes it is better to leave one opponent disc in a low-scoring position than to clear the board entirely, because the open-board requirement to reach the 15 zone is more demanding.

Strategy Tips

Competitive Play & Tournaments

World Crokinole Championship (WCC)

The World Crokinole Championship has been held annually in Tavistock, Ontario, Canada, since 1999. Tavistock, a small town in Perth County (the same region where the oldest known board was made), hosts the event every June. The tournament attracts over 300 players from Canada, the United States, Europe, and beyond. Competition includes both singles and doubles categories, with players competing across multiple rounds of qualification before advancing to elimination brackets. The atmosphere blends serious competition with community celebration, featuring a church-hall setting, potluck meals, and a genuine warmth that reflects crokinole’s rural Canadian roots.

National Crokinole Association (NCA)

The NCA organises a season-long tour of crokinole events across Ontario, with a points-based ranking system for competitive players. NCA events are held in community halls, churches, and recreation centres throughout the region, maintaining the game’s traditional community-based character. The NCA season culminates in a championship event that determines the top-ranked player in Canada.

Online and International Play

Crokinole’s competitive community has expanded through online forums, YouTube channels, and social media. Several prominent content creators have brought the game to international audiences, and crokinole clubs have formed in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, and Australia. While the competitive heartland remains Ontario, the game’s global footprint is growing steadily.

History

Crokinole’s origins are firmly rooted in rural Ontario, Canada. The oldest verified board is dated 1876 and was crafted by Eckhardt Wettlaufer of Sebastopol, in Perth County. Wettlaufer was a member of the local Mennonite community, and the game quickly spread through Mennonite, Amish, and other German-speaking settler communities in the region.

The game likely drew inspiration from European flicking and disc games that the settlers’ ancestors had played. Games like pitchnut, carrom, and various tabletop shuffleboard variants existed in Europe for centuries, and crokinole may represent a Canadian synthesis of these influences. However, the specific design of the crokinole board — with its concentric scoring rings, centre hole, and surrounding posts — is uniquely Canadian and has no exact European predecessor.

For over a century, crokinole was primarily a family and community game in rural Ontario. Boards were handcrafted by local woodworkers and passed down through generations. The game was especially popular during long Canadian winters, when families gathered around the kitchen table for evening entertainment. Mennonite communities, which traditionally avoided card games and other pastimes seen as gambling-adjacent, embraced crokinole as a wholesome social activity.

The game’s modern revival began in the late 1990s with the founding of the World Crokinole Championship in 1999 and the formation of organised clubs and associations. The board game renaissance of the 2010s brought crokinole to an entirely new audience: modern board game enthusiasts who discovered it through online reviews, YouTube demonstrations, and game cafes. Today, crokinole is widely regarded as one of the top dexterity games of all time, and demand for handcrafted boards regularly outstrips supply.

Board Makers & Where to Buy

Crokinole boards are overwhelmingly handcrafted rather than mass-produced. The most respected board makers include:

• Willard Martin — a master craftsman from Waterloo, Ontario, whose boards are considered among the finest in the world. Martin boards are used at the World Championship and are prized by collectors. Wait times for new orders can be months to over a year.
• Muzzies — a well-known Canadian maker producing high-quality tournament-grade boards at various price points.
• Tracey Boards and Hilinski Crokinole — other respected Canadian makers with strong reputations in the competitive community.
• Mass-produced options — Several companies offer entry-level crokinole boards at lower price points (often €50–€100). While these lack the finish and feel of handcrafted boards, they provide a perfectly playable introduction to the game.

Expect to pay €100–€200 for a solid mid-range board, €200–€400 for a tournament-quality handcrafted board, and €500+ for a premium artisan board with exotic wood inlays and custom finishing. A good crokinole board is an investment that will last generations with proper care.

Variations

Crokinole Solitaire

A solo practice variant in which a single player shoots all 12 discs and tries to maximise their score. The goal is to sink as many 20s as possible while keeping the remaining discs in the 15-point zone. A perfect round (all 12 discs sunk for 20 each) would score 240 points, though this is virtually impossible. Solitaire crokinole is the best way to develop consistent flicking technique and centre-hole accuracy.

Three-Player Crokinole

An informal variant where three players compete as individuals. Each player receives 8 discs of a distinct colour. The contact rule applies to all opponent discs (both other players). Scoring and gameplay follow standard rules otherwise. Three-player crokinole works but is generally considered less balanced than the two-player or four-player formats.

Speed Crokinole

A variant where players must shoot within a strict time limit (typically 5–10 seconds per shot). If a player fails to shoot in time, they forfeit that disc. Speed crokinole adds pressure and forces instinctive rather than calculated play, making it chaotic and entertaining for casual game nights.

Progressive Scoring

Instead of cancellation scoring, both teams add their full scores for each round to their running totals. This variant makes games higher-scoring and reduces the impact of dominant individual rounds. Some casual groups prefer this because it feels more rewarding — both sides always score something.

Frequently Asked Questions