Simon Hughes, reviewing a television program for ‘The Age’ recently, asked the question, "Does anyone play marbles anymore?"
It was posed more as an aside, really, in an article mentioning things we did in days gone by. It’s a question I have been 
asked many times, most often by adults talking about their schooldays and other childhood memories, and it deserves an answer. The answer is YES, people still play marbles, although perhaps not the way Simon remembers playing the game.

Anyone who played marbles as a child will remember that it’s a ‘seasonal’ game - it suddenly appears in the playground one 
day, and disappears just as mysteriously, to be replaced by footy, basketball, skippy, chasey - whichever game is ‘in’ at 
the time. Marbles today is just as popular, just as noisy and just as passionate as it was years ago, although some schools 
respond to the inevitable complaints of cheating and unfairness by banning the game from the playground, a short-term 
solution which is destructive to both the game and the children’s social development. Enlightened and less embattled 
teachers work with the children to establish rules acceptable to everyone and the game goes on.

The lore of the game has changed over time. Terms like ‘dub up’, ‘fenudging’, ‘spans’, ‘slogs’ and even ‘taw’ are rarely, 
if ever, used by children nowadays. They have their own terms, like ‘nudges’, ‘bombs’ and ‘shooter’. The influx of 
immigrants from many parts of the world have enriched the game, and added to the lore. The Chinese Flick, where a marble is 
catapulted by bending the middle finger back and letting it go, has become the norm in some playgrounds, while in others 
flicking has virtually disappeared, with players simply bowling marbles along the ground. The decrease in flicking can 
perhaps be seen as a ‘de-skilling’ of the game. In years gone by, anyone who couldn’t flick was at a real disadvantage in 
the game.

The richest lore is to be found in playgrounds which foster a very strong marbles culture. At one Melbourne primary school, 
the children have names for over 30 different types of marbles, based on colour and patterning - names like Froggies, Cat’s 
Eyes, Bottle Tops, Beach Balls, Sunsets, Blue Moons, Olympics, Claypots and Ice-cream Jellies. Each marble has a value in 
relation to the others, with Olympics - clear glass marbles with swirls of colour inside, from early this century - being 
the most valuable. The children have also identified 9 different sizes of marbles, ranging from Whale’s Eyes (biggest) to 
Peewees (smallest), and including the only name for a large marble when I was at school, the Tombowler.

People have been playing with marbles since around 4000BCE. Walk into any toyshop today, and chances are you will find 
marbles for sale, especially ‘in season’. However, the encroachment of buildings, sealed surfaces and landscaped gardens 
onto children’s playing areas makes it difficult to find places to dig holes, play ‘Tracks’ and draw rings in the dirt for 
a game of Marbles. The children have to adapt as best they can or give up and find something else to play.

So yes, people are still playing marbles, and perhaps it’s time to dig into the cupboard, pull out the old marbles bag, 
limber up the thumb, and rediscover what fun it is to ‘knuckle down’.

Judy McKinty can be contacted by at: judy@pixeltech.com.au