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Types of Marbles Games for Kids

It is thought that people have been playing marble games for thousands of years, with small clay balls used in the earliest games. Small clay balls have been found in ancient Egyptian tombs and Native American burial grounds. The earliest known book on marble games was written in 1815 in England. The first machine-made marbles were produced in Germany in 1890 and production has become more sophisticated since. There are many types of marble games.

"Keepsies" and Friendlies
- According to the iMarble website, marble games fall into two categories: friendlies or "keepsies." Friendly games are played just for fun while the winners in "keepsies" win some or all of their opponent's marbles. When playing marble games, children should agree on whether their game is a friendly or a "keepsie" before beginning.
Ringer
- The traditional marble game Ringer is played in the annual National Marbles Tournament in New Jersey. It is played on a flat surface on which a circle with a 10 feet diameter is drawn in chalk. In the center of the circle, thirteen target marbles (also known as mibs) are placed in a cross formation with 3 inches between them. Using a "shooter" marble, players take turns to shoot at the mibs aiming to knock them out of the circle while keeping their shooter in the circle. When a player knocks mibs out the circle without their shooter leaving the circle, they keep those mibs. If the player misses the mibs, fails to knock them out of the circle or rolls their shooter out of the circle, their turn is over and play passes to the other player. The winner is the person who has the most mibs once they are all claimed.
Bun Hole
- Bun hole is played on soft ground, such as grass or sand. A one foot wide hole is dug in the playing surface and a line drawn at an agreed point to play from, around 10 feet away. Players must roll their marbles as close to the hole as possible without falling in. The winner is the player whose marble gets closest to the hole.
Marble Arch
- Marble Arch is a shooting game designed to test accuracy. It is played with a wooden box about a foot wide by 8 inches tall with no top or bottom. On one side there are 5 holes, one large (worth 5 points), two medium (worth 20 points) and two small (worth 50 points). From an agreed distance, children roll their marbles, aiming for the holes, collecting points each time their marbles go through the holes. Play lasts an agreed amount of time or number of turns and the winner is the player with the most points. Marble Arch is not normally played as a "keepsie."
Lagging
- Lagging is another accuracy testing marble game for children, similar to bun hole. A target line is drawn in chalk and a base line (known as the taw line) is drawn parallel to it about ten feet away. Children roll their marbles in turn. The winner is the person whose marble is closest to the line without crossing it. Players may aim to knock each other's marbles beyond the line. This game may be played as a friendly or as a "keepsie."

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