For our first installment of our Beyond Billiards section, we’re diving into table shuffleboard.  First, a little background:

People call shuffleboard by a few different names:

• American Shuffleboard
• Indoor Shuffleboard
• Slingers
• Shufflepuck

The goal of the game is for players to push weighted pucks (called weights or quoits) down a long wooden table into a scoring area at the opposite end of the table. Unlike outside shuffleboard games, the shooting of the pucks is done by hand instead via cue sticks.

Shuffleboard tables can range from 9 to 22 feet long and are at least 20 inches wide. To decrease friction, the table should be sprinkled with shuffleboard wax, which looks like saw dust. The wax acts like ball bearings, allowing the puck to slide along the long table easily with only a slight push and adding a level of difficulty to the game.

Each end of the shuffleboard table is divided into three sections for scoring on each side:

• The outer section at the end of the table is labeled with “3” and earns players 3 points, the next section is labeled “2” and the final one is labeled “1”.
•  Sections 3 and 2 are the same length, whereas section 1 is four times as long.
• The center of the table is unmarked and the line that separates the sides of the tables is the “foul line”. Players must get the puck passed this line or they are removed from the round.

A game of finesse and accuracy, the game can be played with individual players or with teams.

To play, players/teams stand at one end of the table and alternate sliding the pucks to get them into the scoring areas, knocking opponents’ pucks off the table, pushing their own pucks into higher scoring brackets or using pucks for defense. Once all eight pucks have been thrown, the round is over and points are added up.

So, who’s ready to shuffle to the beat of the shuffleboard?

Want more info on the game?  Try these sites:

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Table_shuffleboard#Object_of_the_game
• http://www.dazadi.com/blog/how-to-play-table-shuffleboard-the-rules-of-the-game/
• http://www.wikihow.com/Play-Shuffleboard