We believe there are many sjoelbakken (shuffleboards) in people’s homes in the UK, maybe in a garage or an attic, often brought out for family gatherings. However, there are relatively few public or communal places that we know of to play Sjoelen in the UK and we want to gather as much information as we can on this! If you know of a pub, community centre, school or other venue that has a sjoelbak, please contact us and let us know where it is!
We also know that there are some sjoelbakken in places where people don’t know what it is they are looking at – they’ve been playing sjoelen for a long time, but only know it as shuffleboard or “that game they have down the pub”.
Here’s a list of the sjoelbakken in accessible places that we know about:
Permanent Locations
Beerblefish Brewing Co., Unit 2A-4 Uplands Business Park, Blackhorse Lane, Walthamstow, London E17 5QJ. Yes, that’s right, the place where Sjoelen UK has made its home has a sjoelbak. This is a brewery taproom with a range of board games, pool and weekly games nights as well as a developing sjoelen community.
Festivals, Competitions and Other Events
Wigan CAMRA Beer & Cider Festival, Robin Park, Wigan. Early March.
Belfast CAMRA Beer & Cider Festival, Botanic Gardens, Belfast. Usually in May – 2022 date not yet published.
Peterborough CAMRA Beer Festival, on the river embankment, Peterborough. August.
World Conker Championships, Oundle, Northamptonshire. Early October.
Pig’s Ear CAMRA Beer & Cider Festival, The Round Chapel, Clapton, London. Late November/early December.