How to Play a Game of Marbles

The game of marbles dates all the way back to ancient civilizations, and has been played by kids and adults alike for thousands of years since. The aim of the game is to knock marbles out of the ring. Play for keeps to take home your opponents’ marbles, or play for fun to keep things light and breezy. We’ll show you how to play a game, from setup to shooting to winning, and how to play variations on the classic rules.

Marbles Rules Overview

Draw a circle that’s about 3 ft (0.91 m) across on a flat surface. Each player adds 10-15 marbles to the circle, then chooses their shooter. Take turns using your shooter to knock marbles out of the circle. Whoever knocks out the most wins.

Section 1 of 4:

Setting Up the Game

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Draw a circle on the pavement in chalk, or make a circle with string. This will be your ring. Usually, marble rings are around 3–10 ft (0.91–3.05 m) across. For a beginner game, we recommend making your ring 3 ft (0.91 m) across. Draw the circle as evenly as you can to ensure a fair game. ^{[1]
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- To get a perfect circle, tie the chalk to a string that’s 1.5 ft (0.46 m) long. Hold the end of the string to the ground and orbit the chalk in a circle around it.
- Or, cut a piece of string that’s about 10 ft (3.0 m) long, then tie the ends together and place it on the ground, shaping it into a circle. Use this for your ring.
- It’s best to play marbles on smooth concrete, but it can be fun to shake things up! Play on hardwood, short carpet, or any flat surface.
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Choose a shooter marble. Your shooter (or "taw") marble will be what you use to knock other marbles (“mibs”) out of the circle. Choose a marble bigger than all your other marbles, so it has plenty of power. Qualities of a good shooter marble also include a heavier weight and a perfectly smooth, rollable roundness. ^{[2]
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- Other names for the shooter marble include Aggie, boulder, Steele, king, and middleman. ^{[3]
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Place 10-15 total marbles in the center of the ring. Play with 2 or more people. Each player scatters an equal number of marbles into the ring. Space the marbles evenly, but try to place the majority nearer to the center. ^{[4]
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Research source} How many marbles you choose depends on how large of a game you want. The more you place, the longer the game will last. ^{[5]
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- To start, place 5 of your own marbles into the ring, and tell your opponent to do the same.
- If you’re playing for keeps, it doesn’t matter if the colors are the same. If you’re playing for fun, make sure you and your opponents each have different-colored marbles, so you can tell them apart.
- As a beginner, try playing with just 1 or 2 other people, so the game doesn’t get too hectic.
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Decide whether you want to play for keeps. Marbles can be played either "for fun," which means that every player keeps their own marbles after the match, or "for keeps." If you choose to play for keeps, other players can win your marbles to take home after the match by knocking them out of the ring. Choose how you're playing in advance so you know what to expect while playing. ^{[6]
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- If you really love your marbles, play for fun. If you want one of the other players’ marbles, ask them if they want to play for keeps. You all have to agree beforehand!
- Don’t let other players pressure you into playing for keeps if you don’t want to.

Section 2 of 4:

Knocking Out Marbles

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Determine who will go first by shooting marbles toward a line. Draw a line in the ground with your chalk, then stand about 10 feet (3.04 m) away from your line. Have each player take turns flicking their shooter at the line. The player whose marble lands closest to the line goes first (with second, third, fourth, etc., going as follows). ^{[7]
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- This method of determining the playing order is called “lagging.”
- Alternatively, decide who goes first with a coin flip or by playing Rock, Paper, Scissors.
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Kneel outside of the ring and shoot your taw marble from the ground. Your objective is to knock as many marbles out of the ring as you can each turn—including your own. To shoot your marble, fold your thumb, pinkie, and ring finger into your palm. Roll your pointer finger around the marble, holding it against your thumb knuckle. When you're ready to shoot, flick your thumb out. Always take your first shot from outside the ring. ^{[8]
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- At least 1 part of your hand must be touching the ground when you shoot. Use your dominant hand to shoot the marble.
- Some variations of the game give a penalty (like losing a turn) if you touch the chalk circle with your knees while shooting. Decide with your friends whether you want to play with this penalty.
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Grab any marbles you knocked out of the ring. Your turn ends after you take a single shot. Don't wait until the end of the game to gather your marbles, since you might not remember which ones your shooter got out. Pick them up right after your turn and gather them in a neat pile. ^{[9]
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- Some variations of the game state that if you knock a marble out, you get to go again. Ask the other players whether they want to follow this rule. ^{[10]
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Leave your shooter in the ring if you don't knock out any marbles. You’ll shoot from this spot during your next turn (using the same shooting method as before). If your marble is moved inside the ring by another player, you’ll play from wherever it lands. ^{[11]
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- If you did knock out 1 or more marbles, grab your shooter. It’s safe, and next turn you’ll shoot from anywhere outside the ring.
- Decide with your friends whether you want to add a penalty, like a lost turn, for those who move their shooter marble by accident while it's in the ring.

Section 3 of 4:

Winning the Game

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Knock the other player's shooter marble out for a quick win. If your opponent's shooter marble is within the ring, it's vulnerable to being knocked out. Players whose shooter marbles are knocked out automatically lose the game. If this person was the only other player besides yourself, you win the game by default. ^{[12]
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- Because shooter marbles are bigger and heavier, they are generally harder to knock out than other marbles.
- Some people decide to play without this rule, and play until all the smaller marbles are knocked out.
The game ends as soon as no marbles are left in the ring, including shooters. ^{[13]
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Research source} Unless your game ends abruptly by knocking other shooters out, this is the only way to end the game. Most marble games last from between 15-30 minutes.
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Win the game by knocking out more marbles than your opponent. Count up how many marbles you knocked out. Each marble equals 1 point. When you've finished counting your marbles, compare how many you have to how many the other players knocked out. The player who knocked out the most wins the game. ^{[14]
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- If you're playing with marbles of different colors or sizes, you may want to assign points to each marble type depending on difficulty.
- If you played for keeps, you take home all the marbles you knocked out. If you played for fun, give each player their marbles back.
- Some players agree to each give the winner a marble of their choice as a prize.

Section 4 of 4:

Other Marbles Games

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Bullseye Draw 4 circles, each inside the other, and assign each circle a points amount. The center ring is worth the most points. Give each player 5 or more marbles, and take turns shooting them into the ring, aiming for the bullseye, or center. Once everyone has shot their marbles, count up your scores to determine a winner.
- Write down the points on a piece of paper and add them up to ensure accuracy.
- Aim to knock other players’ marbles out of the center to make them lose points!
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Cherry Pit Dig a hole about 1 ft (0.30 m) into a smooth, dry patch of dirt. Take turns flicking your marbles as closely to the hole as you can without dropping it in. The player whose marble comes closest to the hole without falling wins. ^{[15]
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- For added challenge, make it so that knocking your opponents' marbles into the hole is allowed.
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Dropsies Dropsies is just like normal marbles, except you have to drop your shooter from shoulder-height, instead of shooting it from the ground. Every player scatters 5 marbles in the ring, then stands around it. Take turns dropping your shooters and trying to knock out other players’ marbles. ^{[16]
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- This is best played on a softer surface, like carpet or turf, so that your marbles don’t break.
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Collecting Marbles When you're not playing with marbles, it’s just as fun to collect a variety of marbles in all shapes and sizes. The more marbles you collect, the better selection you'll have when you're playing a game. Keep your marbles in a pouch to avoid losing one accidentally. ^{[17]
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- Trade your marbles with friends to expand your collection.
- Avoid using your most special marbles in any games, especially if you're playing for keeps.

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How many people can play marbles?

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As many people as there are shooter marbles! You can also share one, so really, there's no limit to how many people can play.

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What if it is a tie? Do you continue playing?

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This is up to you. If you're playing for fun, you can just shake hands and accept the tie. But if you're playing a serious game of marbles and want to determine a true winner, play another round.

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When do I use my aggie?

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The shooter marble, or aggie, is used on your turn to knock the smaller marbles out of the circle.

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Tips

For practice, play marbles against yourself. Set up the traditional marbles game and knock out all the marbles until you're done. Try to knock them out faster and with fewer tries each time.

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If you play on a table, cover it in black construction paper so you can draw your circle in chalk.

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Always establish whether you're playing for keeps before you start to avoid arguments.

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Play a couple of games for fun before you play for keeps, so that you get a hang of the game before there are real stakes.
You can also trace around a hula hoop to make a perfect circle for a ring.

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How to Play a Game of Marbles

Marbles Rules Overview

Steps

Setting Up the Game

Knocking Out Marbles

Winning the Game

Other Marbles Games

Community Q&A

Video

Tips

Tips from our Readers

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