MARBLE FACTOIDS 2002

This year I am delighted that we have been included by Charles Wells Brewery as part of the Bombardier English Premium Bitter Eternal England Series celebrating the eccentricity of English pastimes. It is a great honour to be part of this elite group of events alongside such illustrious happenings as rolling pin throwing, Stilton rolling and nettle eating.

All Photographs By Julia Fox C.2002

The British Marbles Board of Control would like to thank:

Rules of The Golden Cross

The inaugural game was played at the British and World Marbles Championship at The Greyhound, Tinsley Green on Good Friday 2002 in the "Golden Oldies" competition for players aged 50 years or over on that date.

Barry Ray receives the ‘Golden Oldies’ Cup

A perpetual trophy, the "Bombardier Eternal England Series Golden Oldie Cup" has been presented by Charles Wells Brewery and will be played for on Good Friday each year for any player aged 50 years or over on that date, as part of The British and World Marbles Championship under the organization of The British Marbles Board of Control.

Rules of the Game

• The game will be played on a raised concrete ‘ring’, with a diameter of six feet. The ring will be covered with a light sprinkling of fine sand.
• The game will be played between two players; each player will provide their own ‘tolley’, which must not exceed ¾ inch in diameter.
• The object of the game is to knock target marbles from the ring. The target marbles will be made of glass with a diameter of approx ½ inch. 13 target marbles will be used and will be set in a cross formation in the center of the ring, touching each other.
• The order of play will be decided by a nose drop. The referee will draw a line in the sand, the two players will stand opposite each other with one foot placed each side of the line. Each player will hold their tolley against the end of their nose between the thumb and index finger of the playing hand, and on the word of the referee will drop the tolley towards the line, the player who’s tolley lands closest to the line will choose whether to play first or second.
• When shooting from the edge of the ring the player must have one knuckle of the shooting hand touching the edge of the ring. When shooting from within the ring one knuckle of the shooting hand must be in contact with the playing surface.
• The first shot may be taken from any point around the ring. When the tolley has been shot there will be one of the following options.
  1. If the tolley comes off the ring without touching any target marbles there is no score and it is the turn of the other player.
  2. If the tolley remains on the ring without having touched any target marbles there is no score, the tolley remains in situ and it is the turn of the other player.
  3. If the tolley remains on the ring having struck one or more target marbles the player will score a ‘hit’, the tolley will remain in situ and it is the turn of the other player.
  4. If the tolley remains on the ring having struck one or more target marbles the player will score a ‘hit’, the tolley will remain in situ and it is the turn of the other player.
  5. If the tolley comes off the ring having knocked out one or more target marbles the player will score one point per marble – it is now the turn of the other player.
  6. If the tolley remains on the ring having knocked out one or more target marbles the player will score one point per marble and will continue to shoot from the landing point of the tolley.
• Only one ‘hit’ can be scored per player per round. Knocking off one or more target marbles with the first shot, remaining in the ring and then striking one or more target marbles will result in a hit and point/s being scored in the round. Killing the opposing players tolley is not allowed and will not result in a score of any kind. Accidental killing will not be penalized and the tolley will be returned to its approximate position on the ring before the next shot. Deliberate killing of an opponent’s tolley will result in the killed player being credited with 1 point and the tolley being returned to the ring before the next shot.
• The player will begin their next turn shooting from any point around the ring except following options 2 or 4, in which case the player will shoot from the place the tolley came to rest.

Winning the Game

• A game will initially consist of six round.
• The first player to knock 7 target marbles from the ring will win the game.
• At the end of six rounds the player with the most points will win the game.
• If at the end of six rounds the players have scored an equal number of points they will be permitted a maximum of three further rounds to determine a winner. If points are still equal after this the player with the highest number of hits will be the winner of the game. If hits are also equal the winner of the original nose drop will be the winner of the game.
• In the event of a no score draw at the end of six rounds the winner will be the player with the highest number of hits – if these are equal the winner of the game will be the winner of the original nose drop.
• In the event of any dispute the decision of the match referee will be final

*** This article must not be reproduced without the express written permission of the British Marbles Board of Control. Copyrighted 2001. All correspondence to: The Secretary, British Marbles Board of Control c/o The Greyhound, Tinsley Green, West Sussex. We wish to thank Sam McCarthy-Fox for making The Marble Museum the official North American correspondent to The Board. The contents of this web site have been copyrighted 2001 by The Marble Museum Inc. All rights are reserved.