Crokinole is a game with unique culture that naturally brings people
together. I was reminded of this while playing doubles with my brother,
son and father-in-law over the weekend.
Within a family
Similar to card games, and traditional board games such as backgammon,
checkers, and chess, crokinole is a low tech game that is played between
people facing each other over a table or playing surface. This attribute
by itself reminds us to turn off the TVs, iPods and computers and spend
sometime together as friends and family.
Unlike these games, crokinole comes with a more casual and fast paced
game that can be played while having a conversation and with a number of
players taking turns at the board. And even further, the simple rules
and heirloom nature of handmade boards transcends generations and can be
enjoyably played among grandparents and grandchildren. The generational
nature must also conjure nostalgia and a connection with the passed with
those fortunate enough to be in possession of hand-me-down boards.
Among families
While I haven't yet had experience with a crokinole club as exist in
Ontario, British Columbia, and PEI, I'm impressed by the commitment and
distance traveled by enthusiasts to attend regional and national
tournaments. The greater crokinole community, while small, seems to be
filled with authentic, unassuming, and diverse people who appreciate
some of the simple yet fundamental principles of pride in one's efforts,
consideration of others, and joys of rich human interaction.
Building a community?
While I consider a "pilgramage" to Tavistock, I'm thinking my next steps
is to organize a series of small gatherings and/or creation of a small
club.
Clockwork Crokinole hit the internet this past week. It appears to have
been developed by Evan Smith of Nova Scotia, CA (as "Mud Puddle Games")
based on GarageGames Torque2D engine.
The mechanics, ambient sound, and animations are "steampunk" style and
have a nice feel to them. Easy mode is a ...
As "long-time" readers of KnipsBrat may
remember, I (re)discovered Crokinole by way of Penny
Arcade. They held their east coast
exposition Apr 6-8, 2012 in Boston.
Along with the DVD, "Crokinole", I received a copy of Joe Fulop's
"book." While he clearly put time into the text, it's a comb-bound book
reminiscent of a high school term paper.
I liked the look inside an accomplished player's mind, but I did find
the prose ...
Nathan Walsh, a ranked Crokinole player, just started a new blog called
CrokinoleCentre with a post
recapping the results of the 2012 London Crokinole tournament. Nathan is
also a prolific poster of crokinole videos on youtube, you should check
out his channel.
Armed with an iPhone and tripod mount, my brother and I put on a live
demonstration of crokinole for our parents.
I'm sure this is possible with Skype or similar, but there was something
funny about the multiple camera angle effect with both players' faces as
well as a ...
Shortly after receiving my Puzzler board, I wrote about the process and
results of waxing. I performed my second waxing today and went out of my
way to be more generous with the wax as well as letting it dry for 20
minutes before wiping it off. I basically let ...
I haven't got my hands on a copy yet, but in 2006, a movie was made.
Directed by Joshua &Jonathan Steckley, the film reportedly introduces us
to characters such as Mr. Crokinole (Wayne Kelly), Willard Martin and
"the Wayne Gretzky of Crokinole", Joe Fulop, in a light ...
While hosting a birthday party for my 9 year old and 7 of his friends,no
had to opportunity to teach several of them crokinole. By first
demonstrating the flicking dynamic and showing the goal of hitting the
center of the board, they quickly understood what was required to take ...
Setup my new crokinole board on a 32" inch table in the family room for
the long weekend. 2 person games, 4 person games, adult games, and kid
games. While I wouldn't call it an obsession, it got plenty of play from
both my family and our hosts.
Over president's day weekend, here in the United States, my family is
traveling north to Vermont to stay and ski with friends. Our friends
have a nice home close to a ski area and enjoy getting away from the
hustle and bustle of the city. I've decided to ...
Since discovering the game, and reading everything I can find online,
and ordering my own board. It became obvious that I ought to experience
the game in some form.
I was able to find a version of the game for my iPad (its acutally
designed for the iPhone/iPod touch ...
Between Christmas 2011 and New Year's Day 2012, I happened to
(re)discover Crokinole while browsing the
internet. After quickly finding
myself perusing the forum's at BoardGameGeek.com, I was bewitched
by this game and the boards on which it was played.