History of the Game of Ringer

THE EARLY HISTORICAL RULES OF NATIONAL MARBLES TOURNAMENT

HISTORY OF THE GAME OF RINGER

The US National Marbles Tournament was first created and sponsored by the Scripps-Howard Newspaper Group in 1922/23. The game of Ringer was chosen as the official National Marbles Tournament game. In Wildwood, New Jersey the National Marbles Tournament is still held each year in June, making the tournament the oldest ongoing national contest for children in America. The marble game of Ringer is a version of the early European marble game of Bull Ring or Ring Taw. Ring Taw is depicted on some 17^th century Dutch delft tiles, paintings, and engravings.

HOW TO PLAY MARBLES

BOY WEEK MARBLE TOURNAMENT ENTRY 1924 - PHILADELPHIA

All games shall be for fair. Marbles must be returned to owners after each game.

Players shall provide their own shooters (taw) and ducks (mibs) for the game. Shooters shall be not less than five-eighths inch, nor more than seven-eighths inch in diameter.

Ducks shall be not less than one-half inch or, more than three-quarters inch in diameter.

Players shall knuckle down on all shots. Hunching and histing shall not be permitted on any shots.

The referee’s decisions shall govern in all cases of disagreement and shall be final.

Play will be by groups of not more than six. In match games, two only play.

Groups will lag for a line marked on the ground from a distance of ten feet, for the order of their turns in each game. Players tossing or shooting nearest to the line shoot first next shoots second, ECT…

The ring shall be ten feet in diameter with a cross-scratched in the center of the ring. In all games 13 ducks shall be used, one at the intersection of the cross lines, and the others placed three inches apart on each cross line. Each player shall lay in his ratio of ducks and then, the referee or one of the players making up the cross duck.

MUST ALWAYS KNUCKLE DOWN

Starting the game, each player in turn knuckles down on the ring line and shoots (by lofting if possible) to knock one or more of the ducks out of the ring, or hit the shooter of a preceding player, if it happens to be in the ring. A player while shooting from outside the ring must always knuckle down from the ring line.

Ducks knocked out of the ring are held by the player knocking them out. Ducks knocked only part of the way out of the ring will be left where they come to rest and the player following will be permitted to shoot at them. A player, whose taw goes outside the ring, at the same time he has been successful in shooting a duck out, will continue shooting from the ring line and is permitted to take rounders.

If after a miss the taw comes to rest inside the ring it must be left there until the player’s next turn. If the taw on a miss travels outside the ring, the player picks it up until his next turn. He is permitted rounders on the ring line at his next turn.

A duck coming to rest exactly on the ring line shall be considered as having been knocked out, but a duck with its center resting on the ground inside the ring is considered still in the ring.

HIT TAW, GET A DUCK

A player hitting a opponent’s taw left inside the ring on a preceding miss, and not knocking the opponent’s taw outside the ring is entitled to pick up one duck for the hit, but he is "dead" on his opponents taw until he knocks out another duck or hits another opponent; excepting that, if his taw goes out of the ring on the play he becomes "live" on his opponent and may shoot at him again. If he hits the opponent’s taw out of the ring, that kills the opponent, and puts him out of the game. This entitles the shooting player to all the ducks that opponent has won in the game but if opponent has not won any ducks, shooting player cannot pick up a duck for each hit.

After hitting an opponent and taking a duck for the shot, or after knocking a duck out of the ring or after knocking an opponent’s taw out of the ring, a player shoots from where his taw comes to rest, providing his taw does not go outside the circle. If taw goes outside of circle he will continue play by shooting from the ring line, and is permitted rounders.

Should opponent knock more than one duck of the opponent’s out of the ring on a single shot, he shall be entitled to all marbles going outside the ring.

When a marble is knocked from the line in center of the ring and comes to rest near the ring line (but outside the circle) it is not necessary that the marble have to travel the entire length of the ring, when hit by a player following. It can be shot from ring at any angle but players must knuckle down on ring line.

WHEN TAW SLIPS

When a taw slips from a shooter’s hand and when it has not been touched by the thumb so that there is no question that it slipped accidentally, it is "no play." The referee, if he is perfectly satisfied that it was a bonafide slip, should permit the player to shoot again from the original spot where the taw had lain.

A player who shoots the last marble out of the ring, and whose taw stops inside the ring, must allow his opponents to shoot at him as follows: The player whose taw is hung inside the ring after he shoots out the last duck places his taw on the ring line.

Players who were still in the game may shoot at him from the opposite side, across the whole length of the ring. If one of the other players hits him, he gives up all his ducks he has. Players are forbidden from picking up marbles and smoothing or otherwise rearranging the ground around them. If a player calls "picks", the referee may, If he finds it necessary, pat the ground or clear any obstruction.

In case one of the players should be "killed" during the course of the game, this does not eliminate him from the contest, but only from the game then in progress.

A scorer must keep accurate count of all marbles each player scores, and the player having the largest number after all marbles are out of the ring will be declared the winner of the game.

The player who first wins two games, when play is 2 out of 3, or who wins three games when play is 3 out of 5, will be the winner of that group, and the other players are eliminated from the contest.

1924 MARBLE DICTIONARY

Taw, Tolley, or Shooter (Marble shot from the hand of the player in the game.)

Ducks, Miggs, or Mibs (Marbles placed in the ring to be shot at.)

Knuckle Down (Resting knuckles on ground when shooting.)

Shooting or Flicking (Holding taw between thumb and first finger and releasing it by force of thumb.)

Hunching or Fudging (Moving hand forward across line when shooting-Forbidden)

Histing (Raising hand from ground in shooting-Forbidden.)

Roundsters (Taking a different position for shooting, on ring line only.)

Lag Line (Line formed by mark on ground 10 feet away from lagging point.)

Lagging or Dribbling (Tossing or shooting for line to determine order in which players shoot.) Sneaking (Shooting to lay close to ducks for next shot.)

Turn (Player’s time to shoot, as determined by lagging at start of game.)

Lofting (Shooting in an arch through the air instead of rolling shooter on the ground.)

Dubs (Hitting two or more ducks out of the ring.) For Fair (Playing to return to owner all ducks won in game.)

Picks (Removing obstructions or leveling ground in front of shooter.)

Mibster (A marble player.)

"Knuckled down, George Lennox (1924 National Champion) flicks his shooter from hand."

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