Different Ways to Play Marbles

Ringer

• Ringer is a very common way to play marbles. Draw a circle in chalk or make a circle out of string on the ground; it should be about 10 feet across. Put 13 marbles in the circle, close to the center. Try to keep about 3 inches in between every marble. Each player takes turns using a shooter marble to knock the marbles out of the circle. You must shoot from outside the circle. The first person who can knock seven marbles out of the circle wins the game.

Lagging

• Draw a line in the dirt or with a piece of chalk. About 10 feet away, draw a taw line. Players stand behind the taw line and alternate rolling marbles toward the other line. Each player gets one turn. The person whose marble is the nearest to the line without crossing it is the winner. The winning player can collect all of the losing marbles. This game can be played until there are no marbles left.

Tic Tac Toe

• Use chalk to draw a tic tac toe board on the ground, or draw it in the dirt. Players alternate turns shooting their marbles onto the board from about 3 feet away. The goal of the game is to be the first player to get three marbles lined up in a row. You may knock other players' marbles out of the way as you play.

Keepsies and Friendlies

• Before you begin playing any game of marbles, you need to decide if you are playing keepsies or friendlies. Playing keepsies means that the winning player keeps all of the marbles he won throughout the game. Playing friendlies means that all marbles are returned to their original owners after the game is over.