Powder options for disk sliding games

A question we are often asked is: 'what is the best type of powder for my disk sliding game?' be it Crokinole, Table Shuffleboard, Shove Ha'penny or Carrom, Weykick games or other less well-known disk games such as Dutch Shuffleboard, Pucket, Shuffle-puck (disk hockey) or Pitrush.

The first question to answer is whether you really need powder to play the game. In some cases, the answer is 'no'. For instance, Tracey, Woodestic and Masters Crokinole boards have such a smooth varnished surface that the disks slide nicely without powder but most players prefer the experience of adding a little powder to make their pieces glide as if on air. For centuries, players of Shove Ha'penny have been arguing about the best substance to put on their boards to make ha'pennies slide better including paraffin, beer and beeswax! Some wooden Shove Ha'penny boards have such a well-polished surface that they also can be used as they are. Slate Shove Ha'penny boards, however, are usually played with smoothed ha'pennies and do need powder. Carrom players always use powder and many boards are made so that the game really doesn't work without it. Likewise, due to the length of most Table Shuffleboards, powder is an essential part of the game to ensure that the disks will slide easily to the end of the table. By contrast, a Dutch Shuffleboard is not super smooth and usually some some force is needed to propel the disks. However, the surface on less expensive tends to be less well-finished and we understand that some players in Holland use powder - there's no harm if you prefer to play with it.

The term 'Gliss', derived from the French word Glisser (slide), is often used to describe the granules used for table-top games, particularly by Crokinole players. Gliss powder can be plastic, natural or a mixture of both.

Although it's not absolutely necessary to buy a specialist product to speed your board up, powders are usually sold in easy-to-sprinkle containers and that are convenient to use and many players will only use a particular type or brand according to their preference. These days, there are two main types of powder used - natural and plastic. All of the lubricant powders mentioned on this page will immediately reduce the force needed to slide the disks by a considerable amount and make your disks glide super-easily across the game board. To ensure an excellent and consistent glide, it is important to ensure that the powder is sprinkled uniformly across the surface without any gaps or areas with too much powder.

A word on safety - in India, it is common to use Boric acid for Carrom boards and many players swear by it - popular brands are Surco, SSS and Synco but Boric acid is toxic so we don't recommend it for home environments. For the same reason, although it works, we suggest avoiding talcum powder. In general, keep dust in the air to a minimum, keep it away from young children and animals plus avoid inhaling or imbibing it!

Powder for disk sliding games

Plastic powder comes in the form of tiny plastic balls or micro-particles and it can be a controversial choice due to environmental concerns - micro-plastics are increasingly polluting the earth and causing harm to wildlife. None-the-less, such powder tends to be the default choice for the fast growing pub sport of Table Shuffleboard and is found in plenty of bars and pubs across the USA and Britain. SunGlo wax is 100% silicone microballs while Capo from Canada has a secret formula but is believed to contain a blend of silicone beads, cornmeal and possibly polystyrene. Weykick provide Flakon powder, made from Degacryl (a proprietary plastic from the dental industry), for their high-quality magnetic football and ice hockey table games. Meanwhile another top game manufacturer, Garden Games, distribute a product called Disco powder which is made from tiny Teflon microspheres.

Natural Powder

There are a number of other powders available on the market. French chalk has long been a favourite for Shove Ha'penny - players traditionally rubbed a piece of french chalk over a rough surface sprinkling the resulting particles consistently over the entire board before starting play. While this works on smaller boards, it is probably too much effort for larger games such as Table Shuffleboard or Carrom. Potato starch is a great natural alternative for a powder and we sell bottles of this produced by Uber Games which is made for their Shuffle-puck game - air-hockey without electricity!

Powder for disk sliding games

Other vegetable starch powders also work fine and it's not unknown for people to simply use cornflour or bread flour to enhance their game surface but reportedly these do not produce quite such a frictionless surface when compared to the purpose-made products. Woodestic from Hungary supply a potato starch based Gliss powder that has long been a favourite for Crokinole players. They experimented with many brands of the vegetable based product before settling on an Austrian starch that doesn't clump, readily spreads evenly over the surface and provides a really smooth glide.

Other Methods for Reducing Friction

Played outside, Outdoor Shuffleboard players often use a silicon spray or a special wax on their disks prior to use which makes them glide beautifully along the long shuffleboard courts. Of course, Curling and other games played on ice don't need anything to reduce their friction - that's the point! But there are summer forms of curling and for these, the stones are made with ball bearings to reduce the friction against the ground to a minimum.