What the Big Lebowski did for bowling, Happy Gilmore did for golf, and Guardians of the Galaxy did for mix tapes, Larks is doing for shuffleboard. It’s about time.
We can thank the Baby Boomer generation for the birth and eventual explosion of “family entertainment" options in the 50's. Bowling, miniature golf, ping pong, roller rinks, little league baseball, pinball, Pop Warner football, drive-in movies, street hoops, hula hoops, whiffle ball, frisbee, marbles, swimming pools, croquet, bicycles, and yes, shuffleboard.
And while shuffleboard, like all things, rode a roller coaster of popularity over the decades, its simplistic fun, social compatibility, and skill level for all ages is again bathing in retro glory.
First of all you get to play with tangs and biscuits, do I need to go any further? OK, it’s fun, it’s easy, it’s recreational, it’s competitive (you choose), you can play in shorts, with a cocktail in your hand, and you will never even break a sweat. If you can count to 75, you can play.
Two teams, with four biscuits each, take turns sliding their biscuits to the other end of the court, featuring numbered sections on a triangle grid. The number the biscuit lands on, without touching the lines, is the points you get, or points you lose for each biscuit. Also, you can blast your opponents’ biscuits into oblivion, but that’s about it. First to 75 wins.
The Larkade is our hybrid version of the arcade, old-school cool with today’s high-tech challenges.
It was decided on day one that the Larkade would take its well-earned seat amongst Shuffleboard and Putt Club as one of the crown jewels of Larks Entertainment’s amusement royalty.