SHUFFLEBOARD TABLE GAME RULES

Object:
Briefly, the objective of the game is to slide, by hand, all four of one’s weights alternately against those
of an opponent, so that they reach the highest scoring area without falling off the end of the board into the
alley. A player’s weight(s) must be farther down the board than his opponent’s weight(s), in order to be
in scoring position. This may be achieved either by knocking off the opponent’s weight(s), or by
outdistancing them. Note: Shuffleboard weights are often called pucks but the common term is
shuffleboard weights.

Points:
 With 2 players the game is played to 15. Both players shoot from the same end, alternating ends
after each round
 With 4 players each team has two players. The game is played to 21 points. One member from
each team stands at opposite ends of the board

Basic Game Knock Off Rules:

 Players toss a coin or otherwise choose who shall shoot the first weight, and what color weights
each shall have. (It is an advantage to shoot last.)
 The first player slides his first weight toward the opposite end of the board, which becomes the
scoring end. His opponent then shoots his first weight in a similar manner, attempting either to
knock off the other player’s first weight, or to outdistance it. The players continue shooting their
weights alternately, until all eight weights have been shuffled. When this has been done, one round
of play has been completed.
 The player whose leading weight is farthest down the board (away from the players) is the winner
of the round. The winner’s score is then totaled and registered on the scoreboard
 A puck must be completely in a score zone to count. You have three zones 1, 2 or 3. To score puck
muse be entirely in zone.
 A winning puck that extends over the far edge of the board is a hanger and counts as 4 points
 The winner of a round shoots the first puck down the table on the next round thus giving your
opponent or the opposite team the hammer in that round
 The game continues until one team or player scores the winning point
 Pucks in the gutter or knocked off are forfeited and count as zero points
 If the leading pucks for each team are tied then no score is awarded
 Any puck that crosses the foul line closest to the shooter is considered a legal shot and will remain
on the board
 To score one point the puck must be in the one zone that is between the furthest foul line and the
2 zone, generally any puck that crosses the foul line will still be awarded one point
 These are general rules for casual home play for tournaments and sanctioned league play check
with the tournament director for specific rules some suggestions or common rules are listed under
tournament rules.
Scoring Shuffleboard Points:
After all weights in a round have been shuffled, the player whose leading weight is the farthest away from
the playing end is the winner of the round. The winner’s score is then determined by adding the values of
all his leading weights, which lie ahead of the loser’s leading weight. ONLY ONE PLAYER THE WINNER
SCORES IN A ROUND.

Example: If a RED weight is the most distant weight from the playing end at the completion of a round,
RED becomes the winner of the round, and only RED can score. To determine Red’s score, total the value
of each RED weight, which lies ahead of the leading BLUE weight. RED weights which are either cut off
by or which lie behind the leading BLUE weight are not scored. If there are no BLUE weights remaining
on the board, all remaining RED weights are scored. See example illustrated here.

General Tournament Rules:

Tournament rules may vary and check with the Tournament director for specific Tournament rules.
 Generally the board can only be waxed at the start of the game, it is acceptable for players to throw
wax from the gutter out on to the board by hand but to apply new wax to the board is prohibited
until the end of that game
 Players may walk to the opposite end of the board to examine the position of the weights
 For puck delivery a legal shot requires the player to have at least one foot on the ground
 No physical or verbal harassment is allowed. First offense is a warning and second offence a two-
point penalty. The third office is loss of the game
 No more than 30 seconds my pass between shots, this shall be considered slow play and may result
in a one-point penalty.
 Legal shots or pucks that cross the foul line (closest to the player shooting) is determined by the
tournament director if they are playing the short foul line (closest to the shooter) or long foul line
on the opposite side of the board.

Other types of Shuffleboard Games:

Horse Collar Shuffleboard Game Rules
 Players stand at the opposite side of the board facing each other
 The first player shoots all 8 weights consecutively towards the opposite end
 After all pucks have been shot, the total score is counted
 Boards is cleared and then the opponent shoots in the same manner from his end of the shuffleboard
table
 Players alternate until only player scores 51 points
 This game can also be played in rounds with each player getting a full turn at each round. The
game can end with two players after 8 rounds, or four tosses for each player, or 10 rounds for
teams
  When playing horse collar in teams each teammate will be on the same side of the board and toss
their weights taking turns. In the past this was often played with four person teams each member
getting to shoot two weights
 Each opponent or team gets equal turns at the game
 There are some more complicated scoring rules in horse collar outlined below

Scoring in Horse Collar

 First all the weights that is either touching, or in front of the deuce line count as 1 point. This
applies to the entire area up to the designated foul line, but weight must be completely clear of the
designated foul line to count.
 Any weight between the deuce line and the trey line (including any touching the trey line) count
as 2 points
 Any weight between the trey line and the far end of the board count as 3 points.
 Weights overhanging the board at the far end count as 13 points (13-point hanger).
 If weights overhanging the left- and/or right-hand corner of the board count as 26 points (26-point
hanger).
 All pucks which fall into the alleys, or do not clear the designated foul line are dead and do not
count
 A game is NOT complete until the player or team which has been shooting last has taken its LAST
TURN AT THE BOARD, even though the player or team shooting first has already scored 51
points or more. If both teams go over 51 points, the one with the FINAL HIGHEST SCORE IS
THE WINNER.
 During play, no contestant may leave his position to check the location of weights he or his partners
have played.
 All weights that do not clear the designated foul line are dead and must not be removed from the
board

Score Count Summary - In order to score, a player or team must have at least one puck being worth 3
points or more (it does not have to be the first puck thrown in order to score). For example if a player or
team throws 1 puck worth 3 points and 2 pucks worth 2 points and 3 pucks worth1point and all remaining
pucks on the board are past the designated foul line, the player or team would score 10 points. Hangers
are worth 13 points (hanger being a puck that is hanging partially off the end of the board). Hangers on
corners are worth 26 points (puck is hanging partially off the end and partially off the side of the board in
either corner). A puck just hanging only off the side of the board does not have any special meaning or
point value unless it is a 26-point hanger on one of the corners. Games are played in frames until one
player or team scores 51 points. Every player or team gets to finish each frame and the highest score is
the winner (51 points or greater). If the player or team that scores 51 points or more has the hammer (the
last player or team to play), then they are declared the winner.

Baseball
 Same as regular shuffleboard but instead of playing to 15 or 21 points;
o Game is played for 9 rounds or in this case called innings
o Scoring is the same as regular shuffleboard but the game stops at the end of 9 innings
o Player or team with highest score after 9 innings wins the game
o If play is tied after 9 innings extra innings are played
Bowling
 Ten small bowling pins and pin setter are available from McClure Tables.
o Each pin can be placed using the pin setter.
o Head pin placement should be at the front of the two line.
o The same rules apply as the game of bowling. Each bowler is permitted to deliver two
pucks in each frame.
o Remove all pins and pucks from the board after each frame and reset the pins for the next
frame.
Don’t slide the pucks too swiftly! A slow, controlled and well placed puck will gather more strikes than
trying to hit the pins too hard.

Tips for better game play

Basically, you should strive for three main objectives, in order to win at table shuffleboard:
 Well Placed Puck - This is of the most important skill to develop Learn to place a puck or weight
as far down the board as possible, without having it fall off the end of the board. This skill is best
attained with frequent practice.
 Attack Opponent’s Pucks – Now that you have learned how to place a puck in a high-scoring
position, keep in mind so may your opponent. So you must develop the skill to learn how to attack
and knock off your opponent’s highest scoring pucks or weights. This will help prevent them from
scoring. Frequent practice will help you to develop this skill also.
 Blocking or Protecting Your Own Pucks - When you have learned how to place your puck or
weight in high scoring areas, next you will want to protect it from your opponent’s subsequent
attacks. The method of doing this is called blocking or screening a weight, a familiar tactic in
football and basketball play. Simply place your succeeding puck behind your leading puck in a
position that your opponent will not be able to touch your leading puck in his attack. Never place
a blocking puck too close to the scoring weight, because a good opponent will attack and will then
be able to remove both from the board.
 Learn to use Both Hands - Shuffleboard is a game that requires equal ability with both hands.
With a lot of practice you should try to learn to play with equal skill with either hand. Practice by
trying to shoot an equal number of shots with either hand. If you learn to do this it will greatly
improve your ability to play Shuffleboard.

How to shoot the pucks or weights on a shuffleboard:

When you first begin to play you may find it easier to shoot your pucks from the center of the board. However most
players will learn it is more accurate to shoot from the edge or side of the board. This way you can use your thumb,
index and middle fingers to grip the puck or weight, while you use the third and fourth finger to slide along the edge
of the shuffleboard surface. This way the edge of the board will act as a guide to assist in balance and control. You
will find that this will give you a much greater degree of accuracy in placing your weights on the Shuffle Board.

How to use “English” (or twist):

The use of English or twist on a weight being delivered on a shuffleboard greatly improves the accuracy. Similar to
in Billiards English will allow you more control over where to place the weight and how it will react after it hits
another puck or weight. To put English on a shot simply twist your thumb and forefinger away from the wrist and
in toward the body, as you release the weight. This will take a lot of practice and properly used, it very greatly
improves that weight’s chances of remaining on the board, after it makes contact with an opponent’s weight. The
English will act as a brake, holding it in place. It also allow a very high skilled player to hide delivered weights
behind weights already on the board, thus gaining the advantage of having a just-delivered weight well blocked
without further play. English like in billiards is very hard to acquire the proper skill but will give you a great
advantage once you learn this technique.