How to Play Shovelboard

By Jaques of London · Est. 1795 · Updated 2026-08-17

Shovelboard is a sliding disc game played on a long, narrow wooden board. Each player in turn shoves a weighted disc down the board using the palm of the hand, trying to land it within marked scoring bands at the far end. It rewards a steady hand and a feel for pace rather than brute force, which is why players of almost any age can compete on level terms.

The game is most commonly found in traditional British pubs, where full-length boards are fixed to a wall or set on trestles. It is sociable, quick to learn, and genuinely competitive once players develop a sense for the board surface, making it a natural fit for informal leagues and family gatherings alike.

A little history

Shovelboard has been played in England since at least the sixteenth century and is recorded under a range of spellings including shove-groat, shovel-board, and shuffle-board. It was popular in taverns and great houses alike, and several acts of Parliament attempted to restrict it among the working classes during the Tudor period. The exact origins of the game are unclear, but it is widely documented as one of the oldest surviving pub games in the British Isles, with regional variants differing chiefly in board length and scoring conventions.

Setting up

1. Place the board on a level surface or confirm the fixed board is stable and clean.
2. Agree the target winning score before play begins; 31 is the most common convention.
3. Decide player order; a coin toss or short throw to the board is conventional.
4. Each player or team collects their set of discs, which should be distinguishable from the opponents' by colour or marking.
5. Players stand at the shoving end. In a two-player game both players shove from the same end toward the same scoring zone.

How to play

1. Players take turns; in each turn a player shoves all of their discs one at a time down the board toward the scoring end.
2. A disc is propelled by placing it near the near edge of the board and striking or sliding it with the flat of the hand or heel of the palm. No implement is used.
3. A disc must cross the nearest scoring line to count as in play; any disc that falls off the side or fails to reach the scoring zone scores nothing.
4. If a disc comes to rest hanging over the far edge without falling off, it scores the highest band value; if it falls off the far end it scores nothing.
5. After all discs have been shoved, only the player or team with the disc closest to the far end scores in that round. This is the 'nearest disc' rule.
6. The scoring player counts points for every one of their discs that lies closer to the far end than the nearest opponent disc.
7. Discs are counted by band: the band furthest from the shoving end scores highest (commonly 3), the middle band scores 2, and the nearest scoring band scores 1. Confirm the exact values on your specific board before play.
8. After scoring, discs are retrieved and the next round begins. The player who scored last typically goes first in the next round, though house rules vary.
9. Play continues until one player or team reaches or exceeds the agreed target score.

Winning and scoring

The first player or team to reach or exceed the agreed target score (most commonly 31 points) wins the game. Points are scored only by the player or team holding the disc closest to the far end at the conclusion of each round; all of that player's discs that are nearer to the far end than the opponent's nearest disc score their respective band values. A disc resting over the far edge without falling scores the top band value. Discs that fall completely off the far end score nothing. If two players are exactly tied on score after a round and both are at or above the target, some conventions require a further round to break the tie; agree this before play begins.

The fine points

The most common dispute concerns whether a disc is fully within a scoring band or sitting on a line. The standard ruling is that a disc scores the lower band when it rests on a line between two bands; it must lie completely within the higher band to claim that value. Use a straightedge if available, and always agree a measurement method before the first round. A disc that is touching the side cushion but has not left the board surface is still in play and scores normally.

Knocking opponents' discs is entirely legal and a core part of tactics; there is no foul for deliberate displacement. However, if a player's body or clothing disturbs any disc during a shove, that disc is removed from the board and does not score. If the disturbed disc was an opponent's disc that was already at rest, it is replaced as near as possible to its original position at the opponent's discretion.

How to win more often

• Learn the pace of the board before the game matters: the surface friction varies significantly between boards, so use early rounds to calibrate your force rather than going flat out from the start.
• Aim to place your first disc just inside the top scoring band rather than hard against the far end; it is easier for opponents to knock a disc off the edge than to displace one sitting in the middle of the band.
• When an opponent has a high-scoring disc, consider knocking it into a lower band or off the board entirely rather than trying to outscore it; one well-placed knock can swing several points in a round.
• In multi-player games, track who is closest to the target score and concentrate disruption on them rather than simply chasing your own best position.
• Consistency beats power: a smooth, repeatable sliding action with the heel of the palm will outperform erratic hard shoves over the course of a full game.

Variations

Teams (Pairs)

With four players, split into two teams of two. Partners stand at opposite ends of the board and shove toward each other alternately, round by round. Scoring follows the standard nearest-disc rule but is cumulative for the team. This format is the most common arrangement in pub league play.

Three-Player Round Robin

With three players, all shove from the same end in a fixed rotation. Scoring proceeds as normal but because there are three sets of discs the nearest-disc rule can produce rounds where one player scores nothing while the other two each have discs ranked second and third. Agree before play whether only one player can score per round or whether the second-nearest player also picks up any discs that beat the third player's best.

Short Board (Table-Top) Version

Where no full-length board is available, the game is sometimes played on a shorter table-top board using smaller, lighter discs. Rules are identical but the shorter distance reduces the margin for error considerably, which tends to favour cautious, centred placement over aggressive knocking tactics.

Exact Score (Bust) Rule

A stricter variant popular in some regional leagues requires a player to reach the target score exactly; any round in which the running total would exceed the target scores nothing for that round and the player stays on their previous total. This version significantly prolongs the end game and rewards careful disc placement over aggressive play in the final rounds.

Shovelboard: frequently asked questions