Some of you will remember this immediately. Others will have no idea what you're looking at and that's exactly why I'm bringing it back.
Jokari was a paddle game invented in France in the late 1930s, and by the 50s and 60s it was everywhere, a wooden base, a ball on a long elastic cord, two paddles, and hours of backyard rallies that never needed a net or a court.
Then, sometime in the 90s, it quietly disappeared from stores.
If you grew up with one, you probably haven't seen it in decades.
Why I'm Building This
The same way I went looking for authentic, handmade espadrilles twenty years ago, I went looking for a real Jokari, not a flimsy plastic version, but one built the way it shouldbe.
That search took two years: the right elastic cord, sourced from Spain, the only one I found that gave the ball the right snap and rebound; and a proper Canadian-made ball to match it.
The base is solid reclaimed wood, built right here at home,yes, that's me at the drill press in my own backyard. Every piece is being made and assembled by hand, by me and my
family, the same way we've always done things at DIEGOS®.
Limited Edition. Numbered. Made in Canada.
This is not an open-ended product. I made exactly 999, each one individually numbered and stamped, yours and no one else's. Once they're gone, that's it. And they are available right now.
What's Next
The full run is complete, each set coming with a printed certificate of authenticity and a game rules booklet, so if it's been a few decades, you can relearn the rhythm of it.
Replacement balls, elastics, and paddles are available separately too, because a game this good deserves to last: https://diegos.com/collections/jokari
And this is just the beginning. New versions of DIEGOS JOKARI GAME are already in the works, including a lighter travel version that you can take anywhere without lugging around a heavy wooden block. Sign up for our newsletter to be the first to hear about what's coming next.
And here are the rules of the Jokari game:
Link to our Jokari product page: https://diegos.com/collections/jokari
