Two games, one name
Shuffleboard means two different games. Deck (court) shuffleboard is played standing on a long concrete court, pushing discs with a cue. Table shuffleboard is the bar game, sliding metal weights by hand down a long polished table. Both are about sliding to a target rather than knocking pins down, but they share bowling's skill of judging speed and line.
Deck shuffleboard
In the US the sport is run by the USA National Shuffleboard Association (NSA), whose official rules were last updated in January 2025.
| Discs | 6 inches across, 9/16 to 1 inch thick, at least 11.5 oz; "New discs shall weigh 15 ounces" |
|---|---|
| A set | Eight discs, four yellow and four black ("Other colored combinations may be used") |
| Cue | No longer than 6 feet 3 inches, with no metal touching the court |
| Court | 39 feet between baselines, plus 6 feet 6 inches at each end: 52 feet long, 6 feet wide |
| Scoring triangle | 10 at the tip, then 8, 8, 7, 7, and a minus-10 area ("10 OFF") at the base |
How it plays, from the Canada 55+ Games rules, a formal floor shuffleboard rulebook:
- Singles is two players, doubles four, and in doubles partners stand at opposite ends.
- Yellow shoots first and the colors alternate until all eight discs are played; the other color starts the next frame.
- "A disc scores in the area in which it comes to rest. Discs touching a division line do not score."
- A disc that stops short of the far dead line is dead and removed. Stepping on or over the baseline costs 10.
- Game length varies by rulebook: that rulebook plays 8 frames, while the International Shuffleboard Association's world singles play 16.
One quirk: the NSA says that at a national tournament "the official playing rules of the State that hosts any type of National Tournament shall be followed, without exception," so state rules matter.
Table shuffleboard
The Table Shuffleboard Association (TSA) and The Shuffleboard Federation publish the tournament rules.
| Playing surface | 20 feet 8 inches long, 20 inches wide (TSA rule 3.1) |
|---|---|
| Weights (pucks) | 2.3125 inches wide, 0.75 inches high without the cap, 310 to 355 grams in total (TSA rule 3.2) |
| Game | To 15 points unless the tournament says otherwise (TSA rule 6.1) |
- Clear the foul line. "A weight which does not completely clear the short foul line is not a legal weight" and comes off the board.
- Switch-hammer. The hammer, the last shot of a frame, "shall switch" whenever a frame produces no score.
- Hangers. A weight hanging over the far end scores 4. It can be "made safe" by pushing it back so it won't fall, but "a weight overhanging the rail cannot be made safe."
- Your feet. "A legal shot must start with both feet behind the deuce line."
The often-quoted "22-foot regulation table" is a table size, not a rule: the TSA rule sets the 20-foot-8-inch playing surface.
Shuffleboard words
- Kitchen: the minus-10 area of a deck court's scoring triangle.
- Dead line: a line across the court that a disc must pass to stay in play.
- Frame: one round in which every player shoots all their discs or weights.
- Hammer: the last shot of a frame (table).
- Hanger: a weight hanging over the far end, worth 4 (table).
- Beading: sprinkling glass beads on a court so discs slide.
A short history
The modern court game grew up in Florida. The International Shuffleboard Association's history says a Daytona Beach hotelier painted scoring triangles on a sidewalk in 1913. St. Petersburg is where the game took root: the Christian Science Monitor reports the city gave its shuffleboard club its first two courts in 1924 (the ISA's history says 1923). That club now has 76 courts and about 2,600 members. The game itself is far older: Wikipedia traces shuffleboard to Tudor England, when Henry VIII played "shovillabourde."
Gear
For a court you need a set of eight discs and cues; for a table, a set of eight weights in two colors and shuffleboard powder or wax for the surface.
Gear to play at home
Deck sets come with cues and eight discs; table weights come in sets of eight in two colors.
Sources: USA National Shuffleboard Association, Official Rules (updated January 2025); Canada 55+ Games, Floor Shuffleboard Rules (2015); International Shuffleboard Association, Handbook (February 2026) and history; Table Shuffleboard Association, Rules and Guidelines (2017); The Shuffleboard Federation, rules; Christian Science Monitor, St. Petersburg shuffleboard club (13 March 2025); Wikipedia, Shuffleboard. All checked 21 October 2026.
Common questions
How do you score in shuffleboard?
On a court (deck shuffleboard), the scoring triangle has areas worth 10, 8, 8, 7 and 7, and a minus-10 area at its base. A disc touching a line doesn't score. On a table, weights score by how far they travel, and one hanging over the far end scores 4.
How long is a shuffleboard court?
39 feet between the baselines plus 6 feet 6 inches at each end, 52 feet in all, and 6 feet wide, per the US National Shuffleboard Association's court diagram.
How long is a shuffleboard table?
The Table Shuffleboard Association's tournament playing surface is 20 feet 8 inches long and 20 inches wide. Tables are sold in many lengths, from about 9 to 22 feet.
What do table shuffleboard pucks weigh?
Tournament weights are 310 to 355 grams including the cap, 2.3125 inches wide and 0.75 inches high, under the Table Shuffleboard Association rules.
What does the hammer mean in shuffleboard?
The hammer is the last shot of a frame. In table shuffleboard the hammer switches to the other side whenever a frame produces no score.