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AcceptThe official board builder of the world crokinole championship
Jeremy Tracey, the founder of Tracey Boards and the 2025 World Crokinole Doubles Champion has created three short videos to help you learn the rules of Crokinole quickly so you can start enjoying the greatest game on Earth!
First, watch either the singles (1 V 1) or doubles (2 V 2) video, and play through your first round of crokinole. Then, watch the scoring explanation, which shows how you determine a winner after your round is complete.
Finally, we have a new series, Crokinole for Beginners: This series is for new players like yourself, providing tips and tricks that go beyond the rules of the game. This is not necessary to start playing, but can help with the initial learning curve. The number one tip- HAVE FUN!
Here is how you play crokinole when playing a singles match (1 versus 1 player). See the bottom of this page or the video description for the written explanation.
Here is how you play crokinole when playing a doubles match (2 versus 2 players). See the bottom of this page or the video description for the written explanation.
Here is how you score a round of crokinole, and how to play an entire game. This applies to both Singles AND Doubles, with minor variations between the two. See the bottom of this page or the video description for the written explanation.
This is not necessary to start playing crokinole- however, if you’re loving the game and want to dive in, this series will help you overcome the initial learning curve! Delivered by Garret Tracey, who placed Top 16 at Worlds 2024 and Won the Maryland Championship with Jeremy, use this series to jumpstart your crokinole skills!
Setting up for a 1 V 1 Match: Sit across from your opponent. You each have eight buttons sitting on the table beside the board.
Setting up for a 2 v 2 Match: Sit directly across from your partner, each with six buttons of the same colour. Your opponents will be sitting at your sides, each having six buttons of a different colour.
Shooting Rules: In order to shoot, it must start touching the shooting line somewhere in your quadrant and it must be a flicking motion from behind, never a finger on top pushing.
Objective: The player with the most points left in play at the end of the round will be the winner. The outer ring is worth five, the middle ring 10, the middle circle 15, and the centre hole 20. A button that gets sunk in the 20 is immediately removed and placed here. It counts as 20 at the end of the round, but we want to open this up for more 20s to be sunk. A button touching a line is worth the lower point value. So touching this outermost line means it’s worth zero, you remove it to the ditch so it doesn’t interfere with the rest of the round.
Valid Shot Rule ONE: If your opponent has a button anywhere on the board, you must make contact. You will want to knock it all the way into the ditch, making it worth zero. But all you have to do is make contact. If you make contact, your button stays. If you miss, it’s an invalid shot and goes in the ditch. You are allowed to combo through your own. Perfectly legal. But if you hit your own and don’t hit your opponent, both oF yours are removed.
Valid Shot Rule TWO: If there is no opponent on the board, then a different valid shot rule kicks in. You must end up touching this circle or within it. If you are short or long, it goes in the ditch. Again, you are allowed to combo through your own, but a button involved in your shot must end up touching or within this circle. Otherwise, invalid goes in the ditch.
Who shoots first: That’s your choice. Paper, rock, scissors works!
Scoring regions: To quickly recap from above, the outer ring is worth five, the middle ring 10, the middle circle 15, and the centre hole 20 (which at this point, any 20s should be set in the cup to the side).
Demote pieces touching a region boundary line: This goes best if one player follows these next two steps. First, any piece touching the line between two point regions should be clearly moved into the lower region, so it’s obvious how it scores (ie. a button touching the line between the 5 and 10 region should be moved fully into the 5, so it is recognized as scoring for the lower region).
Cancel out pieces: For example, if you and your opponent both have a button in the 5, take both pieces out.
Keep doing this until it is clear who has more points left in play. Whoever that is has won the round.
SCORING THE ROUND: The winner gets two points for winning the round. If you happen to tie, each team would get one point. And if you lose, you’re zero.
STARTING THE NEXT ROUND: To start your next round, remove all the buttons from the board and the gutter. Get them on the table beside the board. That’s how you know when a round ends, when all the buttons have been spent. For rounds moving forward:
FULL GAME: IS FOUR ROUNDS: Whether you are playing singles or doubles, we recommend that you play four complete rounds, at which point if you happen to end up tied 4-4, play one more round to break the tie.
That is the very basic bare bones of what you need to know to play the greatest game on earth. Please reach out with any questions, but remember the number one rule is to have fun flicking.
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