Bar Shuffleboard Rules

Bar shuffleboard is a fun game that is played on a long, narrow, waist-high table. The object of the game is to slide pucks down the table so that they come to rest as close to the opposite end of the table as possible without falling off the table. You can play one-on-one or in pairs.

Equipment

The Shuffleboard table is twenty inches wide and anywhere from nine to twenty feet long. Surrounding the table is a gutter area. Scoring areas at both ends of the table are marked with a straight line across the table. There are usually three scoring lines, but sometimes there are four. The area closest to the edge is worth 3 points, the next area is worth 2 points and the area closest to the center of the table is worth 1 point. The table is frequently covered in a light dusting of silicone sand to help with sliding the pucks.

Pucks are weighted disks about 2 1/2 inches in diameter. There are eight pucks equally divided in two colors. Usual colors are red and blue, but other colors are available.

Basic Play

For individual play, both players stand at one end of the table and take turns sliding their pucks toward the opposite end. The basic object is to slide each of your pucks as far down the table as possible without having them slide all the way off of the table. You can hit other pucks with your slides. Once all of the pucks have been sent down the table, you have completed a frame. You score the frame and then continue from the opposite end of the table. The game is won when a player scores 15 or 21 points. The winning point total should be decided before the game starts.

Team Play

Shuffleboard can be played by teams of two players. There are two ways to play doubles. You can have one set of players play at one end of the table for one frame and then have the other set of players play from the other end for the next frame. Then continue switching off until the game is finished. Or, you can have each player slide two pucks per frame so that all four players play in each frame. Either way, team games are almost always scored to 21 points.

Scoring

At the end of a frame, the player who has a puck closest to the end of the table gets the points for the frame. The other player receives a "0" for the frame. The winner of the frame counts the points for each puck that is in front of the loser's most forward puck. So, if the winner has two pucks in the 3 point area, one in the 2 point area and one off the table; and the loser has one in the 2 point area and 3 in the 1 point area - the winner would count both of the pucks in the 3 point area. Then, the winner would count the puck in the 2 point area if it was in front of the loser's puck. If the winner's 2 point puck was not in front of the loser's 2 point puck, the winner could not count it. Pucks that land on lines, are counted for the lower score.

A shuffleboard game is won when a player has reached a predetermined number of points. Usually, the game ends at either 15 or 21 points, but players can set any point level they want. Points are added up at the end of each frame and the first player to reach the point total agreed upon wins.

Stragegies

Once you become proficient at sliding the puck, you can aim your pucks to block your opponent. Landing all of your pucks in a small area of the table can make it difficult for your opponent to place a puck in front of you. You can also use the pucks to strike the other player's pucks in order to shove them off of the table while leaving your puck on. Tapping your own puck can move it further down the table into a higher scoring position.