A Fascinating Look Into the World Championships of the Tabletop Curling Game Crokinole

Crokinole 2017 New York Final

Crokinole is a board game that requires each player to slide disc game pieces across a circular board with the goal of knocking out the disc slid by the other player and landing in a high scoring zone on the board. The game takes great dexterity and focus, much like the Olympic sport of curling. There’s even an online version of the game to practice some of these skills.

In 2017, Jon Conrad and Nathan Walsh, the two finalists in Turtle Island Crokinole Tournament, competed hard against one another as equals despite the distinct difference in age. Walsh eventually won the game, although not easily.

This was the first ever meeting between Jon Conrad and Nathan Walsh in a tournament final, and only their 2nd head-to-head playoff matchup … in the next round with Walsh scoring a long-range ricochet 20 on his second-to-last shot for a 9-7 lead and hammer in the next round. In the 9th round, Walsh got an early edge and maintained it for an 11-7 victory and his first singles championship title since the 2014 London event.

Lori Dorn
Lori Dorn

Lori is a Laughing Squid Contributing Editor based in New York City who has been writing blog posts for over a decade. She also enjoys making jewelry, playing guitar, taking photos and mixing craft cocktails.