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How to Play Marbles. There are lots of ways to play this classic marbles game called "Ringer."
You can learn this simple version in no time! You will need 2 to 6 players A smooth surface
to play on Something to mark a circle with, like chalk on the sidewalk 13 standard-size
marbles and one shooter marble per player. Be careful if you have a little brother or
sister who's 3 years old or under—he or she could choke on a jack or ball this small,
so don't leave them out. Step 1. On your playing surface, draw or mark a circle that's anywhere
from 3 feet to 10 feet across. The bigger your circle, the harder the game will be.
If you're playing inside, use piece of string that's about 9 and a half feet long to make
a circle that's 3 feet across. Step 2. Draw or mark a line next to the circle so that
the circle just touches the middle of the line. Draw another line that mirrors the first
line on the other side of the circle. Step 3. Decide who's going first. Each player should
stand behind one of the lines and toss or shoot one marble toward the other line. This
is called "lagging." The person whose marble lands closest to the second line goes first.
The next closest player goes next, and so on. Step 4. In the very center of the circle,
set up the marbles in the shape of a plus sign. The marbles, which are also called "mibs,"
can also be set up in a circle or scattered randomly. Step 5. The first player kneels
down anywhere outside of the circle holding his shooter in one hand with at least one
knuckle touching the ground. This is called "knuckling down." Get it? Step 6. With his
thumb, the player flicks his shooter toward the marbles. His goal is to knock one or more
of them outside of the circle while leaving his shooter inside the circle. Shooters are
usually one of your favorite marbles, and are usually a little bigger than the 13 marbles
in the circle. Step 7. If the first shooter hits a marble outside of the circle, he picks
up the marble and keeps it, for one point. He can now shoot again from the spot where
his shooter landed. You can play this game for fun or for "keepsies," which means at
the end of the game everyone gets to keep the marbles they knock out. Decide before
you start which way you want to play! Step 8. The first shooter's turn continues until
he doesn't knock out a marble. Then he has to leave his shooter where it is, and it's
the next person's turn. You're more likely to hit your marble target if you look at it—and
not your hand—as you knuckle down and flick your thumb. Step 9. The next player now knuckles
down and shoots from anywhere outside the circle. If she knocks out a marble, she picks
it up and keeps it. Step 10. A player can also try to knock out another person's shooter.
If she does, on that player's next turn, he won't have the advantage of shooting from
inside the circle, closer to the marbles. He'll have to shoot from a spot outside the
circle. Step 11. The game is over when all the marbles have been knocked outside of the
circle. The player with the most marbles wins. Did you know Every summer, kids from across
the U.S. compete for prizes and scholarships at the four-day National Marbles Tournament,
first held in 1922.