Marble (toy)
Games
Games
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### History

[thumb\|Roman children playing with nuts, child sarcophagi circa 270–300\. Museum Pio Clementino, Vatican](/wiki/File:Jeu_de_noix.jpg "Jeu de noix.jpg")
In the early twentieth century, small [balls](/wiki/Ball "Ball") of stone from about 2500 BCE, identified by archaeologists as marbles, were found by excavation near [Mohenjo\-daro](/wiki/Mohenjo-daro "Mohenjo-daro"), in a site associated with the [Indus Valley civilization](/wiki/Indus_Valley_civilization "Indus Valley civilization"). In modern India the game is called "kanche". Marbles are often mentioned in Roman literature, as in [Ovid](/wiki/Ovid "Ovid")'s poem "Nux" (which mentions playing the game with walnuts), and there are many examples of marbles from excavations of sites associated with Chaldeans of [Mesopotamia](/wiki/Mesopotamia "Mesopotamia") and ancient Egypt. They were commonly made of clay, stone or glass. Marbles arrived in Britain, imported from the [Low Countries](/wiki/Low_Countries "Low Countries"), during the [medieval era](/wiki/Middle_Ages "Middle Ages").

In 1503, the town council of [Nuremberg](/wiki/Nuremberg "Nuremberg"), Germany, limited the playing of marble games to a meadow outside the town. The name "marble", used for the little toy balls, comes from this region and era, and refers to such balls being made of [marble](/wiki/Marble "Marble").[Marbles — Encyclopedia](https://www.encyclopedia.com/manufacturing/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/marbles) At this point, marbles were made in mills and quarries by polishing small fragments of real stone like marble, [agate](/wiki/Agate "Agate"), [alabaster](/wiki/Alabaster "Alabaster"), [limestone](/wiki/Limestone "Limestone"), and even [brass](/wiki/Brass "Brass").

It is unknown where marbles were first manufactured. A German [glassblower](/wiki/Glassblowing "Glassblowing") invented [marble scissors](/wiki/Marble_scissors "Marble scissors"), a device for making marbles, in 1846\. [Ceramic](/wiki/Ceramic "Ceramic") marbles entered inexpensive [mass production](/wiki/Mass_production "Mass production") in the 1870s.

The game has become popular throughout the US and other countries. The first mass\-produced toy marbles (clay) made in the US were made in [Akron](/wiki/Akron%2C_Ohio "Akron, Ohio"), Ohio, by S. C. Dyke, in the early 1890s. Some of the first US\-produced glass marbles were also made in Akron by James Harvey Leighton. In 1903, [Martin Frederick Christensen](/wiki/Martin_Frederick_Christensen "Martin Frederick Christensen")—also of Akron—made the first machine\-made glass marbles on his patented machine. His company, M. F. Christensen \& Son Co., manufactured millions of toy and industrial glass marbles until they ceased operations in 1917\. The next US company to enter the glass marble market was [Akro Agate](/wiki/Akro_Agate "Akro Agate"). This company was started by [Akronites](/wiki/Akronites "Akronites") in 1911, but located in [Clarksburg, West Virginia](/wiki/Clarksburg%2C_West_Virginia "Clarksburg, West Virginia"). Today, there is only one American\-based toy marble manufacturer: Marble King, in [Paden City](/wiki/Paden_City%2C_West_Virginia "Paden City, West Virginia"), West Virginia.

### Types of game

[thumb\|*Game of Marbles*, [Karol D. Witkowski](/wiki/Karol_D._Witkowski "Karol D. Witkowski")](/wiki/File:Karl_Witkowski_-_Game_of_Marbles.jpg "Karl Witkowski - Game of Marbles.jpg")
[thumb\|An illustration demonstrating the position one must take when shooting a marble in Indian marble games: the finger that is held back has the marble held against its tip, with the marble launched upon release of the finger.](/wiki/File:Marble_play%2C_a_game_of_India.jpg "Marble play, a game of India.jpg")
Various games can be played with marbles.

One game popular in the United Kingdom and United States is [ring taw](/wiki/Ring_Taw "Ring Taw") (or "ringer"), where a ring is drawn on the ground and a number of small marbles placed within it. Players take turns to flick a larger "taw" marble at these marbles, attempting to knock them out of the ring.

In **kanche** (from South Asia), players prepare for the game by standing behind a line and trying to flick their marble towards a designated hole, with the player who manages to flick their marble closest to the hole getting the chance to go first in the game. The marbles are all then placed in the center of a circle, with each player getting one striking marble and the chance to flick their marble in an attempt to strike the circle\-marbles out of the circle. Each marble thus displaced is acquired by the striker, and once all the marbles have been struck out of the circle, the player with the most marbles wins the game.

Similarly, in **pili goli** (South Asia), the goal of the game is to flick a striking marble in order to knock other marbles laid around the field into holes that have been dug into the ground.

### World championship

The [British and World Marbles Championship](/wiki/British_and_World_Marbles_Championship "British and World Marbles Championship") has been held at [Tinsley Green](/wiki/Tinsley_Green "Tinsley Green"), West Sussex, England, every year since 1932\. (Marbles has been played in Tinsley Green and the surrounding area for many centuries: *[TIME](/wiki/Time_%28magazine%29 "Time (magazine)")* magazine traces its origins to 1588\.) Traditionally, the marbles\-playing season started on [Ash Wednesday](/wiki/Ash_Wednesday "Ash Wednesday") and lasted until midday on [Good Friday](/wiki/Good_Friday "Good Friday"): playing after that was thought to bring bad luck. More than 20 teams from around the world take part in the championship, each Good Friday; German teams have been successful several times since 2000, although local teams from Crawley, [Copthorne](/wiki/Copthorne%2C_West_Sussex "Copthorne, West Sussex") and other Sussex and [Surrey](/wiki/Surrey "Surrey") villages often take part as well; the first championship in 1932 was won by Ellen Geary, a young girl from London.

### Gameplay terminology

* "Knuckle down": the position adopted at the start line at the beginning of a match. The player begins with their knuckle against the ground.
* "Quitsies": allows any opponent to stop the game without consequence. Players can either have "quitsies" (able to quit) or "no quitsies".
* "Keepsies" (or "for keeps"): the player keeps all the marbles they win.
* "Elephant stomps": when called, it allows a player to stomp their marble level with the ground surface, making it very difficult for other players to hit.
* "Bombies": when called, it allows a player to take one or two steps while holding their marble and, while closing one eye, to line up over one of the opponent's marbles and drop the marble trying to hit the marble on the ground.
* "Leaning tops": when called, a shooter leans in on their off hand for leverage over an indentation on any type of surface or obstacle.
* A "taw" or "shooter" is generally a larger marble used to shoot with, and "ducks" are marbles to be shot at.
* Various names refer to the marble's size. Any marble larger than the majority may be termed a boulder, bonker, cosher, goen, masher, plumper, popper, shooter, thumper, smasher, goom, noogie, taw, bumbo, crock, bumboozer, bowler, tonk, tronk, godfather, tom bowler, fourer, giant, dobber, [dobbert](/wiki/Dobbert "Dobbert"), hogger, biggie, jumbo or toebreaker. A marble smaller than the majority is a peawee, peewee or mini. A "grandfather" is the largest marble, the size of a billiards ball or tennis ball.
* Various names for different marble types (regional playground talk, [Leicester](/wiki/Leicester "Leicester"), UK): Marleys (marbles), prit (white marble), Kong (large marble), King Kong (larger than a bosser), steely (metal bearing\-ball). Names can be combined: e.g. prit\-Kong (large white marble).


What happens when a player calls 'keepsies' (or 'for keeps')?