Standard rules:

• Before the game starts, you must first decide who throws last, called The Hammer.
• To decide who gets The Hammer, each player throws a disc. The puck that is furthest away gets The Hammer.
• Each player has 4 discs to throw during a round. Usually 2 or 4 player games are played. During a 2 player game, both players shoot from the same end of the board, in alternating order. The player with The Hammer will throw second, so they have the last throw of the round. Once the round is complete, both players rotate to the other end of the board for the next round. The object of the game is to score as many points as possible during each round.
• This can be done by hitting your own pucks into favorable positions or by hitting your opponent’s pucks off the board.
• The player who reaches 15 points first is the winner.
• In a 4 player game, teammates sit at opposite ends of the board and players never rotate to the other end.
• The team that reaches 21 points first is the winner.

Punctuation:

• Only one player (team) can score during a round. The player (team) with the furthest puck receives points. Points are awarded according to the numbered sections of the table.
• The scoring team receives points for each puck that is further away than the opponent’s farthest puck.
• If a puck misses the foul line during play, it must be removed immediately.
• If a disc hangs from the end of the board, it is called an A Hanger and is worth 5 points.
• The loser of a round always receives The Hammer during the next round, regardless of the total score (ie the winner of the round shoots first during the next round).
• Games must be won by 2 or more points. In a 2 player game, if the score is 15-14, additional rounds continue until one team wins by two or more and is declared the winner.
• If you cannot determine which team puck is further away, then no points are awarded. In very close situations, it is typical to use an outside judge to make the call.
• It is acceptable to walk around the board and check the puck positions during a round.
• It is acceptable to use yew powder/wax/sand…only between rounds.
• See the diagram for an example of scoring.

Alternative games:

petanque
• Game very similar to Curling, except that you can choose anywhere on the table, beyond the free throw line.
• Choose a place on the table that is easily recognizable and does not move when hit (painted numbers).
• Players alternate throws, and the player with the disc closest to the spot wins. If the closest player has multiple closest pucks, then they get one point for each one.
• The other big difference with curling is that the first team to reach 9 points wins. In curling a fixed number of rounds is played.

touch and draw
• In this game, you never want to knock another puck off the board. The goal is still to have the furthest puck from the board to score points. If you hit one of your own pucks, it’s lost.
• If you knock an opponent’s puck off the board, your puck is removed and your opponent’s puck is placed back on the backboard in its original position. If this situation occurs and you also hit one of your other pucks in the farthest position, this puck must be returned to the original positions.
• The advantage is to pitch first in this game. If a player wins a round, the opponent gets the first toss in the next round.

horse necklace
• The opponents are on opposite ends of the board. During a round, a player shoots all eight pucks and is awarded points for all pucks in scoring positions.
• The opponent then throws all eight discs and receives points for everyone in the scoring position.
• This continues until one player scores 51 points.
• Each opponent must play the same number of rounds. So if the first player to roll gets to 51, the opponent gets their round to try to get past 51.
• In 4 player games, teammates are on the same side of the board and alternate throwing pucks.

Baseball
• All rules are consistent with normal shuffleboard, except that a fixed number of rounds is played instead of playing up to a point total.
• The player/team with the highest point total after 9 “innings” wins. If the game is tied, additional rounds are played until one player/team wins by 1 point or more.