Are there two games more inherently Canadian than curling and crokinole? Perhaps a combination of the two, which is debuting this weekend at The Forks in Winnipeg.
The game, which incorporates elements of curling with a life-sized crokinole board, has been dubbed “crokicurl.” The name doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue, but we have no doubt that people will soon be flocking to the octagon-shaped rink, or maybe even creating one for themselves.
The unique game was brought to life with the help of Public City Architecture’s Liz Wreford and Leanne Muir, the same team behind the popular fluorescent warming hut known as Hygge House, which sits along the city’s skating trail. The two architects came up with the idea while playing a game of crokinole in their office last summer.
After the pair did a little research to confirm they wouldn’t be copying anyone else’s invention, they began designing the game. Wreford told The Huffington Post that they wanted to bring crokinole and curling together in an entirely new way, so that it wasn’t just a round game of curling.
Their first design was even larger than what’s been built. Originally, the pair wanted players to throw the rocks the same length as a curling rink, but when The Forks suggested the game be located on The Plaza—where it would be more easily noticed and accessed—they reduced its size.
The smaller surface also means that players can use junior curling rocks, which are the same size as regular curling rocks but are made of plastic rather than granite, so they’re about half the weight.
To play, teams face off in groups of one or two. Whichever team is able to accumulate the most points by sliding their rocks onto the centre button, or the highest-scoring rings around it, wins. (You can find the game’s entire set of rules here.)
Crokicurl is free for anyone who wants to play and currently operates on a first-come first-served basis. If enough people show interest in the game, Wreford told reporters that she and Muir would love to bring it to other Canadian cities.
