How to Play the Crokinole Board Game

Crokinole is a simple game that can be played by two, three, or four players. Just like a lot of other games, you simply need to score more points than your opponents to emerge tops in this game. In this game, every player involved makes attempts at targeting their discs into the higher scoring circle, as well as into the center hole. While making attempts at getting their discs into circles which give them high scores, as well as the center hole, they simultaneously try to get their opponents’discs into circles associated with lower scores.

After a round is over, the player with the highest score emerges the winner of that round. This game continues through several rounds until one player hits the hundred point mark.

How Many People are allowed to Play Crokinole at a Time

Crokinole can be played by 2, 3, or 4 people at a time. When it is played by two players, each player has access to 12 discs. These 12 discs will be of one color. Furthermore, the two players involved in a game at a time will sit opposite each other.

When this game is played with 3 players, there are two ways it can be played. It is either two players belong to one team and they play against a single player or it is played with three different teams. Playing with three players means each player will be able to play with 8 discs.

When played with 4 players, all those involved in playing it will have 6 discs each. Further, the teams involved will sit opposite each other.

How to Get Started

To get started with the Crokinole board game, the players involved choose to select a disc color and also a side. As soon as the game gets started and players are seated, they are not allowed to change the position of their seats for the duration of the game. There are various ways to choose what player starts playing first.  One of these ways is the drawing method. As soon as one player gets in the position to start the game, the chance to get started is alternated among the players involved.

As soon as all is set, the players involved in this game flick the discs with them when it is their turn to play. Playing this game involves shooting for the center hole or trying to an opponent’s disc out of the middle hole. If you succeed at this severally, you will do well against your opponent.

During this game, there are usually times when a player gets to take a free shot. Free shots only occur when the board is free from opposing discs. When this happens, a shot can be taken directly at a hole. After making a free shot, if a disc finds its way to the middle of the hole, the player can move it rapidly to the board’s side. This becomes a part of the final score at the end of a round. Usually, a free shot occurs when the game is about to start.

For a free shot to mean anything, it has to get into the inner circle. If it does not get into the inner circle, then, it must make contact with the line of the inner circle. Failure to meet these requirements means the disc will be taken out of play. When the disc makes it into the inner circle, it becomes the turn of the next player to take a shot.

In the absence of an opposing disc, a player can take a shot in any way they like. However, when an opposing disc occupies a space on the board, the next player must aim at the disc. This is done so the disc gets knocked into a position that is associated with lower scores and simultaneously getting their own disc into a position to earn a better score. When a collision occurs, if a disc makes contact with the shooting line, such disc has to be taken out of the ditch.

When a shooter takes a short and does not succeed in hitting a disc, the disc that was used in making such a shot has to be taken out of play. This is regardless of the fact that it might land in the center hole Furthermore, after a shot, if a shooter’s disc fails to hit that of any of the opponents but makes contact with their own disc, then, the disc that gets hit should be taken out of play.

How Points are scored

When the game of crokinole is played, scoring is usually done after every round. To do this effectively, you should know how to score various shots.

When a disc makes it to the center hole, a player is rewarded with 20 points, 15 points are attached to getting a disc into the inner hole, 10 points are awarded to any disc that gets into the middle hole, and 5 points for a disc that is in the outer hole.

When a disc makes contact with a line that serves as a boundary between two circles, such disc is awarded the point associated with the circle with fewer points.

The points in this game are awarded in a way that some people consider quite strange. When a game is on and players accumulate points, these points are used to find the winner of the game at the end of each round. Rather than continue the next round with the already accumulated points, the difference between the points of the winner and those of the loser is taken.

Once this is done the difference gets awarded tom the winner and becomes their point for the round. To explain this better, if the winner of a round gets 40 points and the loser gets 20 points, the difference between these two points which is 20 is awarded to the winner. So after the first round, the winner has 20 points. This continues until someone accumulates 100 points.

Play Crokinole Board Game