Marble Racer Rolls Out a New Twist on an Old Game

What was your favorite childhood game? Checkers? Dominos? Tic-Tac-Toe? It seems that the more sophisticated some games become, the more others stay the same. Some games simply withstand the test of time. Our parents played them. We played them. And now our children are playing them. Some classic games have new twists to them. Yet their essence hasn't changed over the years, and they still create as much excitement in Millersburg Ohio and elsewhere, as they always have. Marbles is one such game.

From nuts to glass

Have you ever wondered about the history of marbles? Before marbles, kids probably played with polished nuts. Roman and Greek youngsters later played games with small balls of clay. And marbles were even found in King Tut's tomb!

Marbles have a long history in Europe. They remained popular through the Middle Ages, when society frowned on children enjoying fun game. Clay marbles of the Medieval and Elizabethan eras became marble marbles when Germans started to manufacture smoother versions. In fact, the word "marble" itself means "for the rock" in German.

Germany became the world's leader in marble for numerous centuries. They produced them from materials such as brass, gemstone, and limestone. Amazingly, some businesses could produce roughly 800 marbles per hour!

Today, glass marbles are the most common ones produced. Historians believe that they were first made in either Germany or Italy.

Another great American pastime

How about marbles in North America? Scientists believe that various tribes of Native Americans played with marbles made of clay and stone. The most famous ones were found at the Hopewell burial site, located in the same state as Millersburg Ohio.

Much later, the first manufactured marbles were produced in America towards the latter part of the 1800s. Later, the initial marbles that a machine created were made in the state of Ohio. Martin Frederick Christensen received the official rights for a machine that made steel ball bearings that were nearly perfectly round. He also produced America's first machine-made marbles! Christensen's company was manufacturing 10,000 marbles per day, by 1910.

Today, one company in Mexico cranks out 12 million marbles every day, and then ships them to an amazing 35 nations throughout the world!

Marble madness

Fortunately, playing a game of marbles with your kids won't require 12 million of them:

Equipment:

• A minimum of 14 marbles: 13 "mibs" marbles and 1 "shooter" marble
• A circle

Rules:

• Every player chooses how many marbles they'll use during the game

• Draw a circle with a diameter of 3-10 feet (use bigger circles for better players)

• Put 13 "mibs" (smaller marbles) in the circle's center, creating What was your favorite childhood game? Checkers? Dominos? Tic-Tac-Toe? It seems that the more sophisticated some games become, the more others stay the same. Some games simply withstand the test of time. Our parents played them. We played them. And now our children are playing them. Some classic games have new twists to them. Yet their essence hasn't changed over the years, and they still create as much excitement in Millersburg Ohio and elsewhere, as they always have. Marbles is one such game.

From nuts to glass

Have you ever wondered about the history of marbles? Before marbles, kids probably played with polished nuts. Roman and Greek youngsters later played games with small balls of clay. And marbles were even found in King Tut's tomb!

Marbles have a long history in Europe. They remained popular through the Middle Ages, when society frowned on children enjoying fun game. Clay marbles of the Medieval and Elizabethan eras became marble marbles when Germans started to manufacture smoother versions. In fact, the word "marble" itself means "for the rock" in German.

Germany became the world's leader in marble for numerous centuries. They produced them from materials such as brass, gemstone, and limestone. Amazingly, some businesses could produce roughly 800 marbles per hour!

Today, glass marbles are the most common ones produced. Historians believe that they were first made in either Germany or Italy.

Another great American pastime

How about marbles in North America? Scientists believe that various tribes of Native Americans played with marbles made of clay and stone. The most famous ones were found at the Hopewell burial site, located in the same state as Millersburg Ohio.

Much later, the first manufactured marbles were produced in America towards the latter part of the 1800s. Later, the initial marbles that a machine created were made in the state of Ohio. Martin Frederick Christensen received the official rights for a machine that made steel ball bearings that were nearly perfectly round. He also produced America's first machine-made marbles! Christensen's company was manufacturing 10,000 marbles per day, by 1910.

Today, one company in Mexico cranks out 12 million marbles every day, and then ships them to an amazing 35 nations throughout the world!

Marble madness

Fortunately, playing a game of marbles with your kids won't require 12 million of them:

Equipment:

• A minimum of 14 marbles: 13 "mibs" marbles and 1 "shooter" marble

• A circle

Rules:

• Every player chooses how many marbles they'll use during the game

• Draw a circle with a diameter of 3-10 feet (use bigger circles for better players)

• Put 13 "mibs" (smaller marbles) in the circle's center, creating an "X" or an "O"

• A player flicks a shooter to knock out at least 1 mib from the circle, without the shooter rolling out of the circle. If a player achieves this objective, he can shoot again from where the shooter landed.

• The player gets 1 point for each mib knocked out of the circle. Also, other players' shooters can be knocked out of the circle.

• If the player: 1) fails to knock out at least 1 mib, or 2) his shooter rolls outside the circle, the player must place the shooter within the circle.

• After all of the original mibs have been hit outside the circle, the player with the highest number of points is declared the winner!

Marbles remains one of the timeless toys for children, in places such as Berlin Ohio. While games such as Marble Racer blends the timeless toy with other types of toys, the essence of the toy remains unchanged. As long as there are children in the world, they'll never become tired of watching the colorful glass balls roll along a tile, pavement, or miniature slide!