Shuffleboard originated in 15th century England as a popular sport in bars and taverns. The original name was derived from a game known as “Shove Ha’penny” (Halfpenny), where coins are slid along a level surface and the winner is the player whose coin is closest to the edge. The game was quickly adopted in aristocratic English households and became very popular among servants and soldiers. The (in)famous English king Henry VIII (the one with the 6 wives!) banned his servants from playing the game, as it was distracting them from their duties!

Settlers emigrating from the British Isles in search of a better life in North America introduced the game to the United States, where it quickly established itself as a popular bar sport on the East Coast. Similar to other pastimes, such as snooker, the game was frowned upon in some quarters, proficiency at Shuffleboard being regarded as a sign of a mis-spent youth. There was even an attempt to get the game banned, which was rejected when a court in Philadelphia ruled in 1848 that Shuffleboard was a game of skill, rather than chance, and was therefore exempt from gambling regulations.

By the early 1990’s, the game had spread to California, and in 1924, the first official rules were published in Florida, where later the International Shuffleboard Association was founded, and where today there are almost as many active Shuffleboard players as there are baseball or football players.

At some point in the game’s development, Shuffleboard diverged into two related, but quite different games. Besides the classic table-top version of the game, a larger scale version evolved, where larger discs (in place of coins) were pushed along the ground on a special court. This version of Shuffleboard was often played outdoors and can be considered a sport, rather than simply a game. Coincidentally, the original “Shove Ha’penny” game also developed an outdoor form known as “Pitch and Toss”, in which coins are thrown towards a wall and the player whose coin comes to rest closest to the wall wins. This game was still popular in the UK up until the introduction of decimal currency, when the lower denomination coins became too small and light to be properly “pitched and tossed”.

Today, Shuffleboard (in both guises) is played in countless clubs, hotels and resorts across the globe, and is a popular leisure activity on cruise ships. There are national leagues in several countries and even official world championships.