How to Play Marbles

kids playing marble games

Here are a few simple marble games to help you learn how to play marbles. The more you practice the better you'll get and then it becomes more fun. Once you've mastered how to play marbles you will find there is something very satisfying about knocking someone else's marbles out of a ring, especially if you get to keep them.

There are also some other fun art things to do with marbles in the video below.

So practice heaps and enjoy the games!

 

How To Play Ringer

  1. Draw a 3 foot long line
  2. Standing 10 feet away from the line each player rolls a marble
  3. Whoever is closest to the line starts first.
  4. Using chalk or a piece of string make a 10 foot wide circle or ring
  5. In the middle of the circle/ring make a cross using 13 marbles approx.. 3-4 inches apart
  6. Standing anywhere outside of the ring, each player takes a turn to roll their marble into the ring and knock a marble out
  7. If they miss they pick up their shooter and their turn is over
  8. If they knock a marble out of the ring, they win that marble
  9. If the marble and the shooter both leave the ring then player wins the marble and their turn is over
  10. If the target marble is knocked out and the shooter stays in the ring the play picks up his shooter and takes another turn until he misses
  11. Whoever gets the most marbles is the winner.

 How To Play Puggy

  1. Dig a hole approximately 2 inches in diameter by about 2 inches deep, this hole is called a ‘puggy’.
  2. Each player standing upright approximately 6-12 inches away from the hole drops at least 3 marbles, these are the target marbles
  3. A shooting line is then drawn 10 feet away from the hole
  4. Sitting or kneeling on the ground, each player then takes a turn from the shooting line to roll their marble and knock any of the target marbles into the hole
  5. Whatever target marbles the player knocks into the hole they win and remove from the hole
  6. The player continues shooting until he misses hitting a marble. After he misses, his shooting marble is left where it stopped and becomes another target marble.
  7. The next player then takes their turn
  8. Whoever gets the most marbles in the hole is the winner.

How To Play Dropsies

Ideal for playing on a rough surface where the marbles with up to four players.

  1. Draw a square that’s 2 feet wide and 2 feet deep.
  2. Each player drops 5 marbles in the square
  3. Standing up with the top of your toes touching the edge of the square, drop a shooter marble from just above your waist height onto the other player’s marbles so as to knock their marbles out of the square
  4. a) If you knock their marbles out and your shooter stays in you keep the knocked out marbles and have another turn
    b) If both marbles, theirs and your shooter, go outside of the square then you keep the knocked out marble and miss a turn.
  5. Whoever knocks out the most marbles wins

How To Play Nine Holes

  1. Get a piece of cardboard and cut out 9 arches. Each arch being approximately 2 inches wide. You can use an old shoe box for this and cut the arches around the lip of the box and then turn the box upside down
  2. Write the numbers 1 to 9 above the arches.
  3. From at least 2 feet away from the arches and going in numerical order (1 to 9), each player must shoot the number of marbles written above the arch through the arch hole. The player can only progress to the next arch after they have shot the required number of marbles through the arch in one turn. Each time they get a marble through the arch they get another turn
  4. First player to get all the marbles through the nine arches wins

 

 Check out this video for other fun arty things to do with marbles.