Practice Makes Perfect – Part One of Three

Best Ways to Practice Crokinole

To begin with, the best way to become a strong crokinole player is simple: play as often as possible, with as many different opponents as you can. If there’s a crokinole group or club in your area, join in. These settings offer valuable experience. If your friends enjoy the game, organize regular meetups. Challenge each other with specific goals to improve every aspect of your gameplay.

However, not everyone has access to a local group—or maybe you prefer to practice in the comfort of your own home. That’s perfectly fine. This series is designed to help you get the most out of your solo practice.

Best Ways to Practice Crokinole

In Part One, we’ll focus on setup and practice goals. In Parts Two and Three, we’ll explore ten practical drills to develop your skills.

Setting Up Your Board

First things first: make sure your crokinole board is placed in a comfortable, accessible location in your home. Choose a table and chair combination that suits your height and allows for easy, relaxed play. Most importantly, ensure the board is perfectly level. Nothing is more frustrating than practicing precision shots and watching your disc drift left or right because the board is slightly tilted. Use a level tool to check and adjust as needed.

Once your board is ready, you can start working on those crucial 20s, rebound 20s, and peels. We'll dive into specific shots in the upcoming parts, but for now, let’s focus on overall gameplay simulation.

Boosting Practice with a Lazy Susan

To simulate real gameplay while practicing solo, I highly recommend investing in a Lazy Susan. This simple tool allows you to rotate the board without standing up, making it ideal for simulating 2- or 4-player games by yourself.

Here’s how: take a shot, then rotate the board to act as your opponent. Consider how you’d respond to your previous shot. This not only sharpens your shooting skills but also helps develop your strategic thinking.

You can also use this setup to experiment with different styles of play. For example:

• Have one colour play aggressively, always aiming for 20s.
• Let the opposing colour play defensively, focusing on takeouts and control.
• This will help you see the advantages and trade-offs of both strategies.

Another fun way to improve is by intentionally attempting difficult shots—the ones you'd hesitate to try in a real match. Pushing yourself this way will expand your skillset and build confidence under pressure.

Final Thoughts

While a Lazy Susan isn’t required to enjoy crokinole, it adds a new dimension to solo play and enhances the quality of your practice. At the very least, it makes it more fun.

In the next part, we’ll explore specific drills to improve accuracy, consistency, and decision-making. Until then, happy shooting—and don’t forget, practice really does make perfect.

Choosing the Right Lazy Susan for Crokinole

Pick one at least 12" (30 cm) wide with strong bearings and a 300 lb (136 kg) capacity to support most boards.

Keep the board low—if a disc can slide under it, it's too high.

Avoid models with central bearings, especially wood or plastic ones, as they tend to wobble. Choose one with stable, smooth rotation.

Join the Discussion: Have you played crokinole before? Share your experience in the comments below!