PLAYING MARBLE

A marble is a small spherical toy usually made from glass, clay, steel,

plastic or agate. These balls vary in size. Most commonly, they are

about 1/2 inch to 1 inch (1.3 to 2.54 cm) in diameter, but they may

 range from less than 1/30 inch (0.111 cm) to over 3 inches (7.75 cm),

 while some art glass marbles for display purposes are over 12 inches

(30 cm) wide. Marbles can be used for a variety of games called

 marbles. They are often collected, both for nostalgia and for their

aesthetic colors. In the North of England the objects and the game

 are called "taws", with larger taws being called bottle washers

 after the use of a marble in Codd-neck bottles.

Various games can be played with marbles; any such game can itself

be called "marbles" (cf. darts, skittles, bowls).

One game involves drawing a circle in sand, and players will take

turns knocking other players' marbles out of the circle with their own

 marble. This game is called ringer but is also known by other names.

 Other versions involve shooting marbles at target marbles or into

holes in the ground (such as rolly or rolley hole). A larger-scale game

of marbles might involve taking turns trying to hit an opponent's marble

 to win. A useful strategy is to throw a marble so that it lands in a

 protected, or difficult location if it should miss the target. As with

 many children's games, new rules are devised all the time, and each

group is likely to have its own version, often customized to the

environment. While the game of marbles was once ubiquitous and

attracted widespread press to national tournaments, its popularity

has dwindled in the television age.

Basic Rules

The basic game, called "Ringer," involves

 knocking marbles out of a ring drawn

 on the ground. Though tournament rules

prescribe the size and type of ring, for

ordinary play the ring can be anywhere

from three to 10 feet in diameter. The smaller

 the ring, the easier the play. Draw the

 ring in chalk on a sidewalk, with a

stick in dirt or with a piece of string on carpet.

To determine the order of play,

 the players do what is called "lagging."

Each player shoots a marble from

one side of the circle, and the

 player whose marble lands closest to the

other side of the circle goes first.

Next closest second and so on.

The object is to knock as many marbles

 as possible from the ring, using the

slightly larger "shooter" marble. As in

billiards, the shooter marble is used from

the spot it landed after the last shot.

To shoot, at least one of the player's

knuckles must be touching the ground.

Launch the shooter marble from the

crook of the forefinger, using the

 thumb to flick it.

The player who succeeds in knocking

the most marbles from the circle wins.

You can play the game for "fair," and

the marbles all returned to their owners,

 or for "keeps," where the

winner keeps all the marbles.