English

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Etymology

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From play +‎ board.

Noun

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playboard (plural playboards)

  1. A ledge or shelf used in puppetry for balancing props.
    • 2005, Carol R. Exner, Practical Puppetry A-Z: A Guide for Librarians and Teachers, page 106:
      Professional puppeteers hang their puppets upside down from a ring on the playboard shelf inside the puppet theater and slip the puppets on like gloves. [] When the puppet is removed, it is hung back in its place on the playboard.
  2. The playfield of a pinball table or similar game.
    • 1969, Rufus King, Gambling and organized crime:
      Nothing moves on these playboards except the ball itself which rolls down the inclined playboard by gravitational pull.
    • 1983, Heinz R. Pagels, The cosmic code: quantum physics as the language of nature:
      Playing pinball requires total concentration, the right combination of skill and chance, a mastery of indeterminacy as the ball moves across the playboard and interacts with bumpers and cushions.