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Marble Game Rules

The game of marbles has entertained generations of children. However, many 21st century children know nothing of the game. If you are someone who grew up playing the game and need a refresher or if you are a youngster interested in playing a game that was popular before XBox and Playstation, then keep reading. You might just discover (or rediscover) a new hobby.

Shooting the Marble
- Decide which marble game you want to play. Different games have different rules. There are more than 100 versions of the game from Ring Taw to Nine Holes. All of them, except for a game called Chinese Checkers, require you to shoot the marble. To shoot a marble, place the knuckle of your index finger down and curl the marble up between your index finger and thumb, then you flick the marble. Once you learn to shoot, you can play any game involving marbles.
Ring-Based Games
- Ring-based games involve a large hand-drawn or manufactured ring, usually 10 feet in diameter and a smaller, 1-foot diameter ring. Examples of ring-based games include Ring Taw and Cherry Pit. To play a game like Ring Taw, the players, usually two to six of them, would arrange their marbles in an X shape inside the small ring. Then, the players gather around the outside of the large ring. They each take turn shooting their taw (a 3/4-inch marble) at the X. The object of the game is to knock as many marbles out of the large ring as you can while keeping your taw inside. A player continues shooting until he or she fails to knockout a marble. If the player fails to knock out a marble or if their taw goes out of the ring, the next player gets a chance. The player who knocks out the most marbles at the end of the game or the first player to knock out seven consecutive marbles without the taw going out wins. Players can play to keep the knocked-out marbles (keepsies) or play to win but give back the marbles (friendlies). The game Cherry Pit is the exact opposite of Ring Taw in that the marbles are placed outside of the small circle and players must try to knock them inside the circle without the taw going in.
Hole-Based Games
- Hole-based games involve shooting marbles into or through some type of hole or opening. Rules for these types of games vary widely. One example is Bun-Hole, where a 1-foot pit is dug and players try to shoot the marble as close as possible to the hole without it going in. The player who gets the closest wins. Another marble game is called Nine Holes or Marble Golf. It is exactly what you think it is, golf played with marbles. Nine holes are dug or fashioned out of some material and players take turns shooting the marbles into the holes.

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