Shuffleboard is a game played on a flat, slick surface. The players use long-handled sticks called cues to try to push plastic disks into a scoring area at the other end of the shuffleboard court. A player also tries to knock his or her opponent’s disks out of the scoring area or into a penalty space. There are several forms of shuffleboard. This article discusses outdoor shuffleboard.
An outdoor shuffleboard court is 52 feet (16 meters) long. A disk may measure no more than 6 inches (15 centimeters) in diameter. The cue may be no longer than 75 inches (191 centimeters). Most cues have a head shaped like a half moon. A disk fits into the curved space.
Shuffleboard can be played by two persons or by two teams of two players each. The opposing players stand behind the 10-off space of the court and take turns shooting disks until each person has shot four. A player scores 10 points for each disk in the 10 area, 8 points for the 8 area, and 7 points for the 7 area. He or she loses 10 points as a penalty for each disk in the 10-off space. The winning score is 75 points.
Shuffleboard was played in England as early as the 1400’s as entertainment for royalty. The game was introduced into the United States in 1913.
