Maybe it's partly because I only played on a 22' Shuffle Board when I was in the teens,
and that's the size I have in the basement, but me myself, I couldn't go shorter..
I recently played on a Friend's 16', and if you haven't ever played on one longer, perhaps
it's fine, but for me it didn't do it..
Although I had never played one, I think maybe a 10 or 12' rebound shuffle may be an
interesting piece to play..

Yes, very minimum of 2 feet. If I had room for only a 16' machine, it would probably be
a ball bowler..
Is there a place that sales different size Shuffle Boards fairly close by that you can try
out? Maybe you'll be fine with a 16 footer?