FAQ's
Carrooka Boards and Playing Questions:
Carrooka boards are 81cm diameter, but the base plate is only 38cm so that’s how big your table needs to be. Carrooka Pool8 boards are 68cm diameter with a 35cm base plate. There aredimensions and pictures displayed on all product pages.
Yes, if you order a Carrooka board you can choose to add on some pool counters and play bothversions of the game.
No, Pool8 boards are for the pool version of the game as there are no colour spots to place the snooker colour counters and it’s a little too small for 21 counters.
You will receive your board complete with integrated spinning base, one set of counters, a striker counter and a rule book. You can also tick the box to receive a free sample of Carrom powder to experiment with faster play (see Carrom powder section below)
No! Everything you “need” to play Carrooka is included with your board. But if you would like to add on accessories, we have a good range to help with storage and play. If you order these at the same time as your board, you will not be charged extra postage.
Yes! Everything fits both sizes.
Carrooka boards are tested to UK safety standards as suitable for anyone over the age of 6 years, but the nature of the game means it’s more suited to anyone over the age of 14 years.
Yes! There are many Carrooka boards in pubs and cafes where you can have a game (sometimes venues make a small charge, check before you go). We also try to attend as many shows and events as possible where we always have games to play.
We don’t share our rules online, but we do have lots of helpful videos on our Youtube channel and we share hints and tips on social media @carrooka on all channels.
Tournament Boards:
Our tournament boards are larger- 91cm diameter and have solid hardwood, wider rails. This not only makes a more luxurious object but makes playing rebound shots more exciting. Tournament boards are the “Rolls-Royce” of Carrooka! Other than that, tournament boards have the same playing surface and the same integrated spinning mechanism as standard boards, so you can just place it on your dining table to play.
Additionally, for tournament boards you have the choice to add a full height table base which also locks, so that your board doesn’t spin when you don’t want it too. You can also add a solid hardwood lid, so that you can use it as a games or dining table.
Yes, we can ship the boards and lids, but not the full height table base. We can send you instructions for a table base so that you can have one made to fit locally.
The boards themselves start from £375
Painted softwood table bases are £175
Solid hardwood lids start from £225
We’ll handle your order by email and/or telephone so that we can discuss exactly what you would like. We only make tourney’s to order, so you will have a little while to wait. We ask for a deposit to secure the order and then the final balance on dispatch.
Waiting times and delivery:
We make every board ourselves by hand, so we usually have a waiting list, wait times are displayed on every product page, just above the “buy” button.
We always work through our list in order, but if you need your board for a birthday or other special date, please let us know in the “notes” section of your order and we will do our absolute best to make the date if we can.
We will email you when your board is made and boxed but before we post it so that you know when to expect delivery- you’ll also be able to let us know if you’re away from home, or what your preferred delivery date is if you reply to our email.
We ship to: United Kingdom, USA, Canada and Europe. If you live elsewhere, please contact us for a shipping quote.
This depends where you live and what trade agreements are in place. But yes- for all European orders you will have to pay import duty and tax. This is charged to you just prior to delivery by the courier. We have no control over how much this will be, it is based on your local rates which are applied to the order value plus the shipping fee.
Playing with Carrom Powder:
Carrom powders have traditionally been used on Carrom boards to enable faster play, as we originally developed Carrooka from the game of Carrom, we have always tended to follow this tradition.
Carrom powders come in various forms, but they all do the same job- they reduce friction so that your counters glide with more ease and speed, you’ll definitely find rebound shots easier if you use a powder. Using powder on the board can also help to protect the surface from scratching.
Some powders have the consistency of flour and are commonly made from vegetable starches. These will reduce friction to a certain extent, but you’ll use quite a bit and it can make your board surface look dusty. Some powders (our preferred) are called “super disco” and these are little tiny spheres rather than a flour consistency. Super-disco powders will give you more speed and glide. They are commonly made of Teflon (the same stuff that keeps your eggs from sticking to the frying pan).
There are some old-fashioned powders still available to buy that are made from Boric, we do not recommend these.
All powders should be kept out of reach of young children and should be kept away from the face and mouth as they are a choking hazard.
There are some powders available that carry a CE testing mark, but most powders have not been tested to safety standards.
All powders are widely available to purchase online, you can try searching for “Carrom Powder” “Gliss Powder” or “Crokinole Wax Powder” and you’ll find a large selection to purchase. It may be a bit of trial and error before you find the one that suits your playing style the best.
Carrooka boards go through many labour intensive stages to make them as smooth as possible. In addition to several sanding processes they have multiple coats of varnish before a final coating of wax. We only use water based and environmentally sensitive products, so we do not achieve the same level of shine as Crokinole boards which tend to be coated in Polyurethane lacquers. Incidentally many Crokinole players use wax powders and gliss powders which you can also use on your Carrooka board.
Board Care:
There should be no need for you to do anything at all to your Carrooka board for a long while. It’s a good idea to dust with a soft brush or cloth on a regular basis to remove old powder. Please do make sure it does not get wet or have sticky food dropped on it!
We do not recommend that you use furniture polishes that may contain water as this may raise the grain of the wood and make the playing surface slower.
But if it has lots of play we would recommend topping up the wax coat from time to time. To do this you simply:
1– Dust the surface of your board with a soft cloth or hoover on a gentle setting with a brush attachment, to remove any old powder.
2– Apply either a clear furniture wax such as Wax Polish Black Bison Paste: Furniture and Interior Woodwork Waxes | Liberon wood cares
or you can use a spray wax- this has been recommended to us by our customers- Mothers California Gold Spray Wax – Mothers (motherscarcare.co.uk) follow the instructions on your product of choice and buff to a shine.
Apart from that, you may wish to add a few drops of light machine or 3-in-1 oil to the bearing underneath your board, just to keep it spinning freely. You will see a hole in the base plate to access the bearing for this purpose.
Your board is made of Birch plywood, it’s a good idea not to store it next to a radiator or other direct heat source. If you play outside, please do not leave it out over night or in damp weather.
We offer a full 6-month guarantee, but beyond that we’re always more than happy to help and advise, if you ever get a scratch or a mark and you need our help, please just send us an email.
Pubs and Venues:
Yes! Our boards have been rigorously tested to UK safety standards and have passed with flying colours! They are safe to use for anyone over the age of 6 years. Additionally, we make them to be robust and to withstand heavy use, your board will serve you well for years!
We know that if you’re letting lots of people use your Carrooka board, counters can go astray, just let us know what you are missing and we will post it to you free of charge (with a postage charge for overseas venues).
Just let us know and we’ll add your details! You can also see who else has a board near you so that you can organise some compeitions!
Returns:
Yes of course! You will just need to post it back to us within 14 days for a full refund. Please see our full terms and conditions.
Very rarely, some boards do not arrive in the same perfect condition that they left our workshop.
Please let us know within 31 days of receiving your board if this is the case. We will work with you to make your board right, this will depend on where you are in the world, but may include:
– Us sending you new parts and advice as to how to fit them
– Returning your board to us (at our expense) for repair
– Returning your board to us (at our expense) for a complete replacement.
– Returning your board to us (at our expense) for a full refund
Please see our terms and conditions.
Product Reviews:
Carrooka has been lucky enough to have some splendid reviews online; mostly, this is reviewers playing on their own purchased copy of Carrooka. As we are such a tiny business and as our process is so labour intensive, we do not tend to give away review copies for free. You are always welcome to ask and we sometimes have boards available that have a small flaw, this means they are playable, but not perfect enough to sell. We can make these available at a reduced cost and will always ask you to cover the cost of postage and (if applicable) entry duty/tax.
Making Carrooka boards:
Please contact us to ask about making Carrooka boards under licence.