At risk of being once again accused of having "lost my marbles" I'm thinking it's high time we all went back in time -- and started finding lost marbles, before it's too late for future generations. What I'm talking about is putting the simple and inexpensive toys and games, back into the play lives of our over stressed and over stimulated children.

With more and more families considering "staycations" or opting for mini-vacations and camping vacations -- the "cost" of play when it comes to our children -- has taken on new significance and definitions.

As I talked about in a previous hub, it's time we put silly business back in the lives of children. There is a lot of high tech and high dollar competition all vying for the attention of our children and budgets. Well, maybe some parents and many kids at first glance would roll their eyes at being given an inexpensive bag of marbles and being told, "Here, go play marbles."

There's a truth to playing marbles that needs to be re-examined. Perhaps, our children have gotten so far away from really knowing the joys of play, that we need to stop and teach them (and ourselves) a new perseptive -- if we want to momentarily discounnect their hands and bodies from their IPODs, G2s, and Wii's.

What Playing Marbles Can Do For Our Children

• Playing marbles helps develop the skill of hand-eye coordination
• Playing marbles helps children learn social skills in interacting with other children
• Playing marbles develops critical thinking in learning strategies to win against opponents
• Playing marbles teaches space relationship in terms of distances and angles
• Playing marbles teaches children about winning and losing
• Playing marbles is a low cost sport
• Playing marbles develops confidence
• Playing marbles helps children learn problem solving

So, how do you get sophisticated consumers like children today, to stop and discover games that will serve them?  It's simple, stop and teach them and challenge them, by playing marbles with them.  You might be very surprised at the results.

Marbles aren't unique to the twentieth century or the nineteenth century -- the games have been played at least since the days of the Romans and Egyptians. Others say playing marbles goes back to prehistoric times.

Here in the United States, it would surprise most to know that playing marbles was so popular, that we used to have a U.S. National Marbles Tournament. We still have tournaments, but they are lesser known to our youth.

Marbles were primarily manufactured in the U.S. in West Virginia, Indiana, and Akron, Ohio. Today, marbles for kids are now largely imported from China.

One of our remaining American factories, located in Paden City -- Marble King, produces one million marbles a day, 365 days a year. Its marbles are used in recreational, decorative and industrial applications such as spray paint cans.

The simplest and oldest marble game used to be known as Ring-taw, then simply fell into just being called marbles. This is usually the marble game that most adults today remember from their childhood.

The game begins by making a circle about one foot wide either drawn with chalk, or with a stick on the ground. In it is placed a number of marbles, one or two from each player.

Outside and around this, some six feet away, another circle is drawn. The beginner then kneels, with their hand against their outer line and shoots their playing marble (known as a taw), at the group placed in the central ring.

This is done by pinching the taw between the knuckle of the bent thumb and the curve of the forefinger, and suddenly straightening the thumb.

If the player knocks any out, they are his to keep, and the player may aim again from the spot at which his taw has stopped.

If, however, the player misses, and his taw remains within either of the rings, he must leave it there, in case the next player wishes to shoot at it.

If hit, the owner of the taw must hand over one marble, but no taw can be taken. It can be aimed at only once.

The game continues in this way until all of the marbles are knocked out of the ring.

In the game of pitchstone -- two players with two marbles play this game. Player #1 throws his marble down. If his companion can hit it with his own, he wins ten points, and has the right to try again. However, he must aim from the spot at which his marble stops.

The winning player may keep on until he misses, when the other player takes a turn. A certain number should be agreed upon before the game -- say one hundred -- and the player whose points reach this first will be the winner. Sometimes this game has been played in third world countries with pebbles.

 

A more unusual marble game is the Oval Ring-Taw variation of the old-fashioned ring-taw marble game.

Instead of a circle, a large oval, about three feet long and two feet wide is drawn. At each end of this, a small space is marked off by a straight line from side to side of the oval, and midway between these two spaces a small cross is made.

On this mark a marble is placed, and other marbles (one each) are placed at each end of the spaces. A straight line, as long as the oval is drawn on the ground, at a distance of four feet from the end of the oval, and from this line the taws are shot by the players.

The player may shoot from any part of the line, and should choose a position that gives the best chance of hitting one of the three marbles. It is a common practice to lay up -- that is, to shoot the taw with little force, so that it rolls into the ring and makes the next aim easier.

Howver, as each player shoots in turn, this puts the taw in danger -- yet players are willing to run the risk of having their taws knocked out by others, rather than shoot them through the ring time after time, without hitting anything.

It should be remembered though, in this game, there are fewer marbles to aim at, and it is more exciting and interesting than ring-taw.

Not only do marbles come in all colors and designs, but they come in a variety of sizes. The ordinary marble is just a "majority." Any marble larger than that can have a number of names, such as:

• Boulder
• Bowler
• Bumbo
• Bumboozer
• Giant
• Godfather
• Masher
• Popper
• Shooter
• Taw
• Tom Bowler
• Tonk
• Tronk

Additionally, smaller than average majority marbles are the peawees or mini's. Also, the large marble of all is about the size of a pool table ball or tennis ball, and they are known as a grandfather.

To play this marble game, you make or draw a two foot ring about eight inches from a fence or a wall. A line is then drawn about seven feet long from the center of the ring, and another line is drawn across the end of this, at which the players take their stand.

Any number of kids may play, but from three to six players provide the best game. A large "alley" is placed in the center of the circle and the players take it in turns, in a standing position, to shy at the alley with a "taw."

If the player misses, he pays a marble to each of the other players. If he hits the alley, he receives a marble from each and goes on shooting until he misses, when it is the next player's turn.

Two players take their stand opposite a wall, against which one of them tosses a marble. When it has rebounded and rolled along the ground, the second player follows suit, with one of his own marbles -- trying to throw it in such a way that in rolling back, it will strike the first marble.

If successful, they then takes up the one so hit as a prize, but leaves the marble they threw where it lies. Under no other circumstances must a marble be picked up until all the marbles of each player have been thrown.

Then, those lying farthest from the wall may be taken up in turn, and tossed against the wall. It requires skill and judgment to play this game.

This is a marble game that French children used to play. The outline of a serpent is drawn on the ground, with two coils, as the picture above shows.

The eye of the serpent is a small hole made in the ground. The players start from the tail, and in turn shoot their taws along between the curved lines.

Any who send their marbles outside these lines, or allow them to pause at either of the two points marked AA, must go back to the tail.

Also, anyone whose marble is struck by that of another while on the journey to the head, must begin again. The winner is the one who first reaches the eyes and rolls their taw into the hole.

The pyramid marble game is made by one of the players placing several of his marbles close together in a group and others on top of them. Around this pyramid, a little circle is drawn.

This player then agrees that any of the other players may shoot at it by paying him one marble for every shot. If the aim is successful, the marbles will roll out of the ring and will belong to the player who knocked down the pyramid.

It has to be built up again for the next player. Of course, the owner makes his profit out of those who aim without hitting, which is very often the case.