As a young boy I always had glass marbles in my pocket or school bag and at any moment ready for a challenge. This was just the same as conkers but this was an annul event and usually died out by the Christmas period. Marbles however was something that could be played year round and the thought of being challenged when you didn’t have your marbles was the cause of sleepless nights for me.

All grown up and adult like I was surprised to find the same competitive edge was lurking deep down and during a recent game with the kids I got all upset about them breaking the rules (she is 6 he is 3 now). Unfortunately turning to Emma for some support was earth shattering in two ways. One, she chastised me for being a child and that i shouldn’t be see hard with the kids and rules, as if that will ever happen. Something I have learnt real fast is that kids make up rules if you don’t give them any. When playing within the rules if they can’t win they wil have no problems changing the rules to suit. S We have rules during our games! But more shocking was that wive of 15 years and should mate for more than 20 years didn’t know how to play marbles!

Yes can you believe that someone in this world has never played marbles as they grow up, what a deprived childhood she must have had. Anyway she will get over that quickly with a run through of the rules and how to play. Now the problems really start, have you ever tried to describe how to play a game so simple that it should be easy but with so many different parts to it that you talk so much you forget what you were trying to do.

Anyway no problem i thought there really should be something online about how to play marbles, and if I’m lucky the rules as well.  Land of Marbles. com is the place if you ever want to get anything to do with marbles they have the rules as well and to cut a long boring story short I was right and won that game of marbles. What i didn’t expect though was Reefe the little 3 year old took all the marbles and hurled them hard across the room. So although i was happy I had won I wasn’t that happy at having to move all the furniture to recover all the marbles. Well you win some – you lose some!