|
Crokinole (pronounced croak-i-knoll, /'k?ok?nol/) is an action board game similar in various ways to pitchnut, carrom, marbles, and shove ha'penny, with elements of shuffleboard and curling reduced to table-top size. Players take turns shooting discs across the circular playing surface, trying to have their discs land in the higher-scoring regions of the board, while also attempting to knock away opposing discs.
Equipment
Board dimensions vary with a playing surface typically of polished wood or laminate approximately 27 inches in diameter. The arrangement is 3 concentric rings worth 5, 10, and 15 points as you move in from the outside. There is a shallow 20 point hole at the center. The inner 15 point ring is guarded with 8 small bumpers or posts. The outer ring of the board is divided into four quadrants. The outer edge of the board is raised a bit to keep errant shots from flying out, with a gutter between the playing surface and the edge to collect discarded pieces. Crokinole boards are typically octagonal or round in shape. The discs are roughly checker-sized, slightly smaller in diameter than the board's central hole, and often have concave faces to reduce sliding friction. Alternatively, the game may be played with ring-shaped pieces with a central hole.
Powder
Powder is used to ensure pieces slide smoothly on the surface. According to Carrom rules, the powder must be of high quality to keep surface smooth and dry, and shall not wet. Pouches and containers are used to spread the powder over playing surface. There must be no impurity in the powder. Boric acid powder is mostly used for this purpose.
In the UK, many players use a version of anti-set-off spray powder from the printing industry which has specific electrostatic properties with particles of 50 micrometre in diameter. The powder is made of pure food grade plant / vegetable starch.
Gameplay
Another computer simulation of a crokinole board.
Crokinole is most commonly played by two players, or by four players in teams of two, with partners sitting across the board from each other. Players take turns shooting their discs from the outer edge of their quadrant of the board onto the playfield. Shooting is usually done by flicking the disc with finger, though sometimes small cue sticks may be used. If there are any enemy discs on the board, a player must make contact, directly or indirectly, with an enemy disc during the shot, If unsuccessful, the shot disc is 'fouled' and removed from the board, along with any of the player's other discs that were moved during the shot. When there are no enemy discs on the board, many (but not all) rules also state that a player must shoot for the centre of the board, and a shot disc must finish either completely inside the 15-point guarded ring line, or (depending on the specifics of the rules) be inside or touching this line. This is often called the 'no hiding' rule, since it prevents players from placing their first shots where their opponent must traverse completely though the guarded centre ring to hit them and avoid fouling. When playing without this rule, a player may generally make any shot desired, and as long as a disc remains completely inside the outer line of the playfield, it remains on the board. During any shot, any disc that falls completely into the recessed central '20' hole is removed from play, and counts as twenty points for the owner of the disc at the end of the round.[1][2][3]
Scoring occurs after all pieces have been played and is differential: the player or team with higher score is awarded the difference between the higher and lower scores for the round. Play continues until a predetermined score is reached.
History of the game
The earliest known crokinole board was made by craftsman, Eckhardt Wettlaufer in 1876 in Perth County, Ontario, Canada. Several other home-made boards of southwestern Ontario origin, and dating from the 1870s have been discovered since the 1990s. Crokinole is often believed to be of Mennonite or Amish origins, but there is no factual data to support such a claim. The reason for this misconception may be due to its popularity in Mennonite and Amish sects. The game was viewed as a rather innocuous pastime - unlike the perception that diversions such as card playing or dancing were 'works of the Devil' as held by many 19th century Protestant groups. The oldest roots of crokinole from the 1860s suggest the British and South Asian games are the most likely antecedents of what became crokinole.[4]
The name "Crokinole" derives from the word "croquinole", Quebec French for "cookie" (or "biscuit" in British English).[5] Crokinole is called knipsbrat ("flick-board") in the Low German spoken by Mennonites.
In 2006, a documentary film called Crokinole was released. The world premiere occurred at the Princess Cinema in Waterloo, Ontario in early 2006. The movie follows some of the competitors of the 2004 World Crokinole Championship as they prepare for the event. It also features interviews with Wayne "Mr. Crokinole" Kelly and crokinole board maker Willard Martin.[5][6]
World Championship
The World Crokinole Championship tournament has been held annually on the first Saturday of June since 1999 in Tavistock, Ontario. Tavistock was chosen as the host city because it was home of Eckhardt Wettlaufer, the creator of the earliest known board. The 2007 event's Adult Singles Division had 144 competitors and was won by Brian Cook of Toronto, Ontario, for a 1st prize of CDN$1,000. Cook also took the 2008 tournament, for another $1,000 prize.[citations needed] The WCC also awards a prize for the top 20-hole shooter in the Adult Singles qualifying round, and has separate divisions for Juniors, Intermediates, and Recreational Players, as well as Doubles, Cue Singles, Cue Doubles. The American champion from 2008 is Piers MacNaughton.
See also
References
- ^ Kelly, Wayne (1988). The Crokinole Book. ISBN 0-919783-83-X.
- ^ Aubrey, Irene Elizabeth (1982). Sports and Games in Canadian Children's Books, National Library of Canada. ISBN 0-662-51763-6.
- ^ Bell, R. C. (1979). Board and Table Games from Many Civilizations, Dover Publications. ISBN 0-486-23855-5.
- ^ "Frequently Asked Questions". Crokinole.com (2005). Retrieved on 2007-01-04.
- ^ a b Jonathan Steckley, Joshua Steckley. Crokinole [DVD]. Gillies Lake Productions.
- ^ "Crokinole (2006)". The Internet Movie Database. Retrieved on 2008-01-03.
External links
| |
