Marbles

• 1.

  With an adult, choose an outdoor paved area that is clean, safe, and free from traffic. Use Sidewalk Chalk to draw a circle about 1 foot (30 cm) in diameter.

• 2.

  Draw an outer shooting circle around the first, about 6 feet (180 cm) in diameter.

• 3.

  Start with four marbles per person. Each player places three marbles inside the smaller circle and keeps one as a shooter.

• 4.

  To shoot a marble: Balance the marble in the hollow made by curling the index finger around and above a straight thumb. Hold the hand on or close to the ground. Take aim and flick the thumb forward at the target.

• 5.

  Players take turns shooting a marble at the others, trying to knock one out of the larger circle. If a player succeeds, the marble knocked out becomes the property of the shooter. The shooter retrieves the shooting marble after each try.

Adaptations

• You can also play marbles with a bridge, a small box that has arches of different sizes cut out of one long side. Decorate the box with Crayola Markers. Players try to shoot their marbles into the arches cleanly, scoring points.
• Make your own marbles with Model Magic. You can even marbleize the colors by blending two or more into a small ball. Air-dry overnight before playing.
• Instead of shooting marbles, drop them onto the playing field in a version called Bombardiers. All marbles knocked outside the smaller circle after each drop become the property of the shooter.