Equipment

• Besides the court or table, shuffleboard requires metal disks, called weights or pucks, and cue sticks with which to push the disks. Each player or team has a set of four weights, each set usually of a different color. For outdoor play, one set traditionally is painted yellow or red, and the other black. The disks are six inches across and 9/16 to 1 inch tall. The cues for outdoor play cannot be more than 6 feet, 3 inches long. The cues end in a crescent shape geared to cup a weight for shoving.
  
  

Indoor Play

• The shuffleboard table for indoor play is about 30 inches tall and 20 inches wide. It is a long table, an even number of feet ranging anywhere from 12 to 22 feet. The table has a polished finish to help the weights slide. A foul line is painted across the table about six feet from each end. Closer to the end of the table are two more lines, these for scoring. The line closest to the end of the table is the 3-point line and the other is the 2-point line.
  A coin toss determines who goes first. Play goes in rounds (called "ends"), players taking turns sliding their weights, trying to get them as close as they can to the end of the table without sliding off of it. If a weight does not slide past the foul line, it is removed from the table. The player who slides his weight furthest down the table scores points: 4 points if a weight is partially hanging off the table, 3 if it has crossed the 3-point line, 2 if it has crossed the 2-point line, and 1 for a weight that has crossed the foul line only. The ends continue until someone wins with 11 points. In doubles it is 21 points, each player having his or her own turn.
  
  

Outdoor Court

• An outdoor shuffleboard court is at ground level, with lines painted to create a 39-foot-long rectangle with two scoring triangles that point inward from each end of the court. The triangle is divided into scoring sections. The very top is worth 10 points, the section below that is 8 points and the section below that counts for 7 points. Beneath each triangle is a trapezoidal shape with "10 Off" written in it. In other words, landing your disk in this section costs 10 points. Players slide the disks toward a triangle from the other end of the court. Above each triangle is painted a "dead line." Each disk must slide past this line to be considered for scoring.
  
  

Outdoor Two-Player Play

• Players stand behind the 10 Off space to slide disks at the far triangle. Yellow's disks are put in the left half of the 10 Off space and black's go on the right side. Yellow goes first, shoving a disk to the other end of the court in a smooth motion. The disk needs to slide past the far dead line, otherwise it is removed from play for that round. This rule is important, as hitting other disks on the court is not only allowable, but part of the game's strategy. Players can knock their own disk into a more favorable position, or knock an opponent's disk out of scoring position. Thus, players want to keep disks in play on the court. After both players slide all their disks, scores are totaled, and players switch to the other side of the court. Play continues until one player reaches the winning total of points, which is usually some multiple of 25 up to 100 points, most often 75. When doubles are played, two opponents play on one side of the court and the other two play from the other side, with the opponent pairs alternating play through the rounds.
  
  

Finer Points

• There are strict official rules for shuffleboard tournament play. Even for more friendly play, there are some finer points of play for which players should be sticklers:
  • A disk must be located completely within a scoring section to get the points. If the disk is between two scoring sections on a line, that player receives the lesser amount of points.
  • There are different versions of shuffleboard. Variations occur in such areas as scoring and rotating between the ends of the court between ends. Everyone should agree on the rules before starting.
  • Important penalties should be observed: Make sure your disk is not touching a line before you shove it, otherwise the player receives a 5 off penalty. If the disk touches a side line or outside line of a triangle, the player receives a 10 off penalty. Players have to shoot "clean." If a player shoots the other player's disk, that player receives a 10 off penalty. Players must stay off the line boundaries while shooting, or they will incur a 10 off penalty.
  • Do not interfere in any way with another player's shot.