DAYSOUT
across interactive games from classic 501 to high-stakes Killer( where you effectively‘ kill’ your opponents- on the dart board only, of course). Sadly, as we discovered with much laughter, the technology cannot make you good at darts.
We quickly discovered that we’ re fiercely competitive and collectively terrible at throwing pointy objects towards a board( although we are signing Maisey up for javelin training). Bullseyes were rare. Confidence was not. With every dart score neatly tracked, there’ s nowhere to hide either- although the easy-to-follow gameplay means everyone can get involved, regardless of whether your previous darts experience extends beyond watching the World Championship.
Next came an hour of shuffleboard. Surely redemption awaited? It did not.
The Board Room is home to three handcrafted 18ft SHUFL shuffleboard tables, made from Canadian maple and featuring an unusual curved playing surface. The curve adds another dimension to the traditional game: beginners can play with it and embrace the unpredictability, while those who actually know what they’ re doing can use it to produce beautifully arched, tactical shots along the full length of the table.
We, naturally, fell into the first camp.
If you’ ve never played before, the premise seems deceptively straightforward: send your pucks gliding down the table and get them into the scoring zones without overshooting, while also using your pucks to force your opposing team’ s pucks out of play. Too much force and your puck sails into oblivion, too little and it stops with all the sporting dignity of a stranded car that’ s run out of petrol.
We may, in fact, be even worse at shuffleboard than darts. But boy is it good fun. There was cheering, questionable technique, tactical discussion, some unexpected cut-throat behaviour and the odd heated interpretation of the rules, and along the way there was a great mix of friendly team-building and professional pride.
That is perhaps the real appeal of Hugo’ s at The Board Room. You don’ t need to be remotely good at either game to have a brilliant time. In fact, based on our experience, being spectacularly bad at them might actually make it more entertaining. While the clever layout means you can be fully absorbed into your game play or food picks without being distracted by neighbouring gamers. My favourite spot was the top shuffleboard table area which has an adjacent decking area, making it perfect for private hire for celebrations, team days and indeed Christmas partying.
Fab food, cracking coastal views, locally brewed beer, cocktails, darts, shuffleboard and plenty of laughs: Hugo’ s at The Board Room can replace our iKHQ boardroom any day of the week!
folkestoneharbourarm. co. uk / the-board-room theboardroomfha www. insidekent. co. uk • 71