How to Play Marbles

By funtogether MakerBlog Follow

About: I am a maker. As founder of MakerBlog, I enjoy sharing my creations with others. More About funtogether »

In this instructable I'm going to teach you how to play marbles.

The game "Marbles" is often considered to be an antiquated, boring game, but, in reality, it is a fun game that has simply been forgotten by a technological generation. The goal of this instructable is to bring back old memories, and to help the new generation learn the marbles game. Enjoy!

Step 1: What You'll Need

To play this game, you will need the following:

• Lots of Normal Sized Marbles (The more of these you have, the longer the game will be. The fewer of these you have, the shorter the game will be.)
• Several Players
• One Shooter Marble for Every Player (Shooter marbles are generally slightly larger than normal marbles, and, according to tradition, should be you favorite marble (although this is not required). :-)
• A Length of String

Step 2: Setting Up

You will need to lay out a circle of string on a hard surface. The circle should be anywhere from 3ft to 10ft in diameter. The larger the diameter of the circle, the harder the game is. Scatter your small marbles into the circle randomly, or create patterns with them (such as circles, triangles, or squares).

Step 3: Choosing Versions

To play "Marbles" you first need to decide what version you are going to play. For instance, are you going to play for fun, or are you going to play for keeps? I highly advise against playing for keeps, as it generally removes friendly competition, and ruins the spirit of the game. Regardless of what version you choose to play, the rules are the same.

Step 4: How to Play

To launch your shooter, you should hold it as shown above and flick with your thumb.

The basic rules are as follows:

1. Flip a coin to decide who will shoot first.
2. Each player's first shot will be shot from outside the string circle.
3. If you knock a marble out of the ring, you set it aside, and count it as one point.
4. Play will progress as previously decided.
5. After a shot, do not remove the "shooter" from the ring.
6. On your next turn shoot from the last place where your "shooter" landed inside the ring.
7. If your shooter landed outside of the ring, you should take your next shot from any point outside of the ring.
8. You may knock another player's "shooter" out of the ring, giving them the disadvantage of having to shoot from outside the ring.
9. At the end of the game, when all the marbles are out of the ring, the person with the most marbles wins.

I hope you enjoy this game! Remember, it's not about winning. It's about having fun! Be a good sport, and have fun!

P.S. Everyone has different versions of the same game, so please comment and describe your version. Thanks!