Old school games: Marbles!

Who here remembers playing Marbles as a kid? I personally didn't play myself, but I do remember watching other kids play it. The neighbour's boys used to play it outside on the concrete driveway and I distinctly remember numerous kids at school playing it on this compacted sandy area which was ideal for shooting marbles on. I unfortunately also remember it being quite a boy's thing. Maybe that's why I was on the outside looking in. Either way, I have it etched in my memory as a popular kids' game. A game filled with anticipation, competition and skill. Oh and tears when a kid, having lost his best marble, decided he didn't want to play for 'keeps' anymore.

According to Rob Lamnle, who's written an article A Brief History of Marbles, marbles have been found all over the world and throughout history. In fact they have been found in the ashes of Pompeii, ancient Egypt and in Native American cultures. Talk about old school! In the beginning they were simple rocks that were polished by the running waters of rivers. For centuries they were crafted from clay, stone and glass. In 1884 mass production of clay marbles began and in 1915 we saw the mass production of glass marbles.

To be honest I'd kind of forgotten about Marbles up until recently when my daughter came to own a bag of marbles herself. We were invited to a children's birthday party at an indoor play center and as an invited guest my daughter could choose a 'prize' from a cabinet of small, mostly flimsy plastic, toys and gadgets. Zara decided on the bag of marbles. At first I thought awesome marble painting! I then I remembered how uninterested my child can be in 'crafty' activities. So what do we do with the marbles then? Took a little while for the 'marble' to drop but then I remembered Marbles, the game. We can play Marbles, Yay! How do we do that though?

Marbles can be played in a variety of ways.  Thanks to a web page called Marble Games I've learnt the names of over 20 games!. I will go into detail with these games in future posts, today I thought I would share with you a game that we have started playing as a family. It's kind of made up as we felt more formal games were a little too complicated for our 3 year old.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED

The best part of Marbles I find is the cost effectiveness of the game. To start with all you really need is a bag of marbles and a flat surface.You can still buy bags of marbles at discount stores, even toy stores. Just had a look at Toys R Us online and they have these huge tubs for around $28.00. I personally find that a bit steep for marbles! Looks like Amazon.com is a better option if you are interested in buying online. I still personally think you should first take a look at your local discount store. 

For our game, if your child is also a beginner and doesn't understand the concept of 'gentlly', you will need a flat carpeted area. I find this stops the marbles from rolling too fast and out of sight, even if handled with some force. I recommend some pillows or rolled up blankets to form a barrier, especially when you have furniture in the near where the marbles can roll under. Also setting up a barrier means you don't have to spend more time picking up marbles from the other side of the room.  

WARNING 

Remember marbles can be a serious choking hazard for small children! Please supervise children playing marbles around small children who are still mouthing. Make sure all marbles are accounted for at the end of a session. Just as dangerous are marbles left  under and around furniture which littlies can find and choke on later. And no putting them up your nose! 

HOW TO PLAY OUR 'BEGINNER'S' GAME 

 How we've set up our game is like this. With barricades in place, i.e blankts and pillows, we place a larger marble up one end and the other marbles are kept at the other end ready to shoot. In this case, the patterned edge of the rug acts as the line where we need to shoot our marbles from. The aim of the game is to shoot your marbles at this large marble target, with whoever's marble is closest being the winner.Simple really.


My daughter, being a total beginner and limited in her fine motor skills, shoots her marbles across by hitting the marble with the back of her hand. We tried to teach her 'knuckling down' but at her age it seems a little difficult. I, on the other hand, am able to 'knuckle down' and do so to shoot my marbles.

Once everyone has shot their marbles across we take a look and decide who's marble has landed the closest to the large target marble. At the moment my husband's seem to always sneek in there. I must say at times my daughter and I find it more entertaining to try and hit Hubby's marbles out of the way rather than aiming at the target.