“That isn’t how you Play Crokinole”! Different Crokinole Rules, and How We Play

Whenever we have a video that goes viral, one of the most common comments we see is about the way we play: namely, how it’s the WRONG WAY. Given the nature of Crokinole being a relatively small, household game, there are a plethora of traditional and household rules that differ from how we in the Tracey Board family play: by National Crokinole Association Rules. 

These kinds of comments and variants of crokinole rules beg the question: what are the differences between rule sets, why do we play the way we play, and most importantly, what’s the RIGHT way to play crokinole? Let’s get into it!

How do we Play?

Before we go any further, let’s establish how we play crokinole. We on the Tracey Boards team play by the National Crokinole Association rules. The NCA is relatively new, being formed in 2009, and has established rules to give a structure for tournament play for all competitors to adhere to. This way of playing is arguably the most popular now, given the growth of the NCA as well as other organizations that have adopted its ruleset. 

For context, you can look at the rules here on our website! If you are unfamiliar with these rules, we highly recommend you look them over before reading the rest of this blog- now, let’s dive into some of the different rules we’ve heard others talk about! 

What are some different rules?

Crokinole is kind of like UNO: There are so many different house rules that people have adopted and passed on through the years. Here are some of the main ones we’ve heard people ask us about (although, this is surely a non-exhaustive list)!

• Keeping Score: The most common rule differentiation we know of is how the score is kept for a game of crokinole. In the NCA, games are typically 4 rounds; regardless of how many points you win by on the board, winning a round gains you 2 points (tying earns each team / player 1 point, and losing 0 points). Most people who know crokinole but don’t know about the NCA play with Traditional Scoring. At the end of the round, you figure out the difference of points on the board, and the winner gets that many points. For example (see the image below): Red has 30 points on the board, and black has 10. The difference in points is 20, so the person shooting red would get 20 points. The game continues on with an undetermined number of rounds until someone hits 100 points. 

• Number of discs: A frequent comment we get is about the number of discs you are supposed to shoot with, particularly in 1 V 1 matches. In the NCA, each player gets 8 shots, but rules vary greatly around this. The most common one we hear is that each player get’s 12 shots, but we’ve heard everything from less, to more, to unlimited shots until someone wins (not sure how that works, but hey, I like the sounds of infinite crokinole)! 

Something to note about these first two variations: These are slightly different from how we play, however, they don’t greatly change the gameplay itself. The scoring change just makes a game go a lot quicker if there’s a skill discrepancy (or a lot slower if people are evenly matched), and the amount of discs just changes the length of each round. With that being said, here are some of the more interesting kinds of rules we’ve heard about: 

• Don’t hit your own: By NCA rules, you are allowed to make contact with one of your discs on the board before hitting an opponent’s disc, AS LONG AS contact is made with an opponent disc with at least one of your discs in play. However, we’ve learned that some people play by a rule that you MUST make contact with an opponent’s disc with your shooter before anything else. 
• Keep it in the centre: One of the most common rule variants we hear about is the “keep it in the centre rule”. The way we play, when a 20 is scored, it is immediately taken out of play and placed to the side. How some people play is, when a disc lands in the centre hole, it stays there until someone is able to knock it out! Perhaps I’m speculating here, but this could be why so many people have memories of crokinole hurting their fingers! 
• Round Start Rule: This is my personal favourite, as it’s the weirdest variation I’ve heard of, and surprisingly common (weird = cool)! Whoever starts the round takes 3 separate open 20 attempts. If you get it, it comes off the board and counts as 20 points. If not, you clear it from the board (regardless if it’s a valid shot or not). Only your third attempt stays on the board, which is when your opponent gets to shoot. My guess is, this is a rule that compliments Traditional Scoring to 100 points, and this is an alternative solution to balance out the hammer advantage that the person shooting second in a round gets. 

Again, there are probably tons of rule variations to Crokinole, and it wouldn’t be practical to bring them all up in one blog post. The biggest takeaway here is, there are lots of different rules that have been passed down and carried on through the years beyond the NCA ruleset that are still used today! 

So… what’s the RIGHT way to Play?

Given that we play by the NCA rules, you can probably guess what our preferred ruleset is. In my opinion, the NCA has a lot of great qualities, including keeping a good pace of play and prioritizing objectivity: 

• Pace of Play: If a tournament were to be run with traditional scoring, it would be near impossible to stick to a schedule; you could have one match that is finished in one round, and another that lasts for 20 minutes before someone hits 100 points. The NCA scoring style helps to ensure everyone plays the same amount of rounds, in the same timespan, to make competition as fair as possible. 
• Objectivity: For example, another rule people bring up is the “50% rule”: Your disc can be no further than 50% over the shooting line when you shoot. This is so hard to objectively determine, which is one reason why the rule is just “the disc must be stationary and touching the line when you shoot”. This concept of objectivity is seen throughout the rules, making it great for competition. 

Does that mean you HAVE to play by the NCA rules? Absolutely not! I’m not your boss, and you have free will, so live your best life! Just keep in mind: if you attend an NCA tournament, or a club that uses that ruleset, it is good to at least be familiar with the rules. And, if you plan on attending a lot of NCA events, it makes sense to practice the way you’ll be playing. BUT: If you prefer playing with traditional scoring, go for it; if you grew up on keeping the disc in the centre and find 20s races appalling, stick to the way you love. As long as everyone around the board is having fun, it doesn’t much matter how you play the greatest game on Earth. 

What other unique rules have you heard of or perhaps have played with before? Let us know, and maybe we’ll give it a shot! In the meantime, happy flicking everyone.