The History of Carrooka
Carrooka was born out of frustration!
Carrooka was invented by Jack Furnival, with support and encouragement from his wife George (short for Georgina); it all began when Jack tried to find a good quality home snooker table that would fit into a tiny terraced house. Everything available seemed a bit plasticy and child-like, there was nothing to satisfy that snooker itch! And then he stumbled upon Carrom.
Carrom is a traditional game from India; a smooth square wooden board, where players flick counters to slide them into pockets. It’s massively popular with tournaments and clubs quietly playing the game all around the world. The story goes that back in the day, when the Brits colonised India, they “discovered” Carrom and absorbed elements of it into the game of Billiards. This eventually led to the invention of Snooker.
Carrooka is the step of this evolution that never happened! Using counters, like Carrom but with rules similar to Snooker; the turning point for Carrooka came, quite literally, by making it turn. Having a spinning board means two or four players can sit at a table and always position the striker (the white ball equivalent) in front of them, making this a fantastic snooker table substitute for small home living.
With 40 years of experience as a quality cabinet maker, Jack had all the skills needed to make Carrooka boards, luckily George had the skills to turn the idea into a business and Carrooka became a “must have” game for fans of dexterity games around the world.
Carrooka is driven by three principles that shape everything we do:
Every Carrooka board is of the highest possible quality, so it is a game that not only play beautifully, it will last for generations and become a beloved heritage piece.
Carrooka will have the smallest possible footprint on the planet; boards are made from sustainable materials and we employ eco working practices wherever possible, for example, shipping boards in plastic free packaging.
We work to delight each and every customer so that we surpass expectations and value the support given by all.
The carrooka timeline
Jack began to make prototype Carrooka boards at home, refining ideas and rules with his friend Bugsy. The first board was rectangular, the real innovation came when Jack made the boards round and rotating. Carrooka applied for design registration (granted) and trademarking.
Carrooka launched with a Kickstart campaign that sold out three times over. Appeared at the UK Games Expo for the first time and was an immediate hit! There were two versions of the game, Classic Green and Natural Birch, both available in big and small versions (the small version was later phased out). The website was launched and George joined the business full time. Started to appear in pubs and clubs around the UK.
Production continues in the little Staffordshire workshop, with a constant waiting list as demand grew. Began to ship worldwide, with sales to ten different countries in the first year. Introduced Carrooka Pool8 for those who wanted quicker play. Award Best New Biz on the Block by BizBubble.
Carrooka became Carrooka Games Ltd, the year passed in a blur of making, making, making and still never beating the waiting list!
Introduced our 4th board- Carrooka Carrom360, our take on the Indian classic. International sales grew and we supplied 35 different countries! US and EU trademarking completed. Plans were hatched as to how we could expand to meet demand.
Carrooka welcomed three partners to work as licensed makers. We provided training and guidance so that Carrooka standards would be maintained or improved. Tracey Boards began to supply North America with their Canadian made boards. Woodestic developed their own house style of Carrooka. We visited India to train Asha Handicrafts Association (the makers of Pucket), they are perfectly placed to supply the wholesale market with Carrooka boards for the first time ever. An Instagram reel by TableTopFamily went viral and catapulted Carrooka into the stratosphere!
Having made more than 2500 Carrooka boards with only four hands, Jack and George decided to re-focus, stepping back to allow licensees to supply the main market with the everyday birch Carrooka boards; while they can focus on making bespoke hardwood tournament boards and also start to grow the competition side of Carrooka.