Crokinole!

My Crokinole board has been recovered... Let the games begin! I've got two ziploc bags full of specialty buttons - or discs, if you prefer - in classic black and tan as well as festive green and red, courtesy of top-competitor and three time World Champion, Joe Fulop (who, as luck would have it, just happens to pal around with my Uncle Dave)! There is some discrepancy over the origins of the game, though it is rumoured that the first board was made by a Mennonite sign painter from Ontario, in 1876. The game shares similarities with curling or shuffleboard but the board is reduced to a much smaller size. Players (two or four - singles vs. doubles) flick buttons across the board, toward the centre 20-point goal, referred to as the "doogie", while aiming also at hitting their opponent's buttons into the ditch. While the rules may sound simple, crokinole savvy requires patience, concentration, and a tough fingernail. I found that, though I had recently watched a brilliant documentary on the game and picked up pointers from Canada's best, I was sadly out of practice... Crokinole, directed by brothers Joshua and Jonathan Steckley, follows the world's top players, board-makers and enthusiasts as they prepare for the World Championship, held annually in Tavistock, (a small South Western Ontario town that bustles but once a year). The film is quirky and clever, and will probably have you searching for your own board (Mr. Crokinole has a monopoly on the industry; his beautiful collection of antique boards are available for purchase online). The Tavistock tournament rolls around in June, so get your flicker finger ready!