How to Play Ringer Marbles

The game of Ringer Marbles has been played since the 19th century. Over the course of time, different variations of the game were created and new rules formed. Many marble tournaments have chosen the game of Ringer as their official game and rules in these tournaments may vary. The following will show you how to play the game of Ringer Marbles.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• 2 to 4 players
• 13 marbles
• 1 shooter per player

Setting Up the Game

1. Make a circle 10 feet in diameter on a smooth level of ground or other hard surface with chalk or make a circle in the dirt or hard clay ground with your finger or with a stick. This circle is called the "Ring Line."
2. Mark two lines in the center of the ring in the form of a cross or "X" so that the lines form right angles. This will be a guide for placing the marbles in play.
3. Put one marble in the very center of the "X" and three marbles on each of the four lines of the "X." Place the marbles three inches away from each other.
4. Draw a "Lag Line" which is a straight line that is in front of and tangent to the ring, touching it in the middle of the line.
5. Draw a "Pitch Line" which is also a straight line tangent to the ring drawn directly opposite the ring and parallel to the Lag line.
6. Obtain a shooter for each player that is made of anything except steel or metal. Ideally, it should be 1/2 inch in diameter or larger, but not more than 6/8 inch in diameter.
7. Stand with your toe against the Pitch Line to throw your shooter or squat down with your knuckles on the line to shoot your shooter toward the Lag Line across the ring. This play is called "Lagging" and players must lag before each game. Shooter that comes closest to the Lag Line wins the lag and shoots first.

Playing the Game

8. Take turns squatting down or "Knuckling Down" just outside the Ring Line to shoot your marble, trying to knock one or more marbles on the "X" out of the ring or to knock your opponent's shooter out of the ring. You can choose any area around the ring to shoot.
9. Take a score of one for each marble you knock out of the ring. Take a score of one for each time you hit an opponent's shooter and it does not go out of the ring and take all your opponent's marbles, and their points, if you actually shoot their shooter outside of the ring.
10. Pick up the marbles you've knocked out and continue shooting until you either knock your own shooter out of the ring or you fail to knock a marble or opponent's shooter out of the ring.
11. Leave your shooter in the ring at the end of your turn. Pick up your shooter when it becomes your turn again, even if it is knocked out of the ring, and take your turn shooting.
12. End the game when the last marble is shot out. Winner is player with the highest score at the end of the game.

Tips & Warnings

• A player is permitted to shoot again if the shooter slips from the player's hand before he or she shoots.
• A marble is considered out of the ring line if it lands on the ring line itself.
• You can possibly find Ringer marble tournaments in your area that you can participate in.
• In some tournaments, if a player scores a penalty breaking rules such as "histing" (lifting his hand before the shooter has left his hand), "hunching" (moving his hand forward before the shooter has left his hand) or smoothing the ground before shooting, any marbles knocked out or moved will be restored and the player loses a turn.