How to Size Playing Marbles

Cat's eye marbles

You don't need a specialized sizing apparatus to play a simple game of marbles; the target marbles in a game of marbles are usually 5/8-inch in diameter, with the shooter--used to knock the targets out of a circle--between 1/2 and 3/4-inch in diameter. The difference between these two sizes is obvious. If you're collecting marbles, however, you may need to learn how to sort marbles by size. Since manufacturers sized marbles by 1/16-inch increments, it's possible for a marble of a specified "size" to vary from its fellows by as much as 3/64 of an inch.

Things You'll Need

• Dime
• Penny
• Quarter
• Marble sizing template or sharp craft knife, ruler and stiff cardboard or plastic

Instructions

Estimating

1. Gather a dime, penny and quarter along with any marbles to be measured.

2. Place each marble on the dime, the penny and then the quarter in turn, looking down at it from straight overhead.

3. Set each marble near the coin it most closely matches in size. If the marble is noticeably smaller than the dime, it's 5/8-inch or smaller; the most common size is 5/8-inch. If the marble is the same size as the penny or just slightly smaller, it's 3/4-inch--the standard size for shooters in the United States. If the marble is just slightly larger than the quarter it's likely to be 1 inch in diameter, the standard size for a shooter elsewhere in the world.

Exact Sizing

1. Purchase a marble sizing template (see Resources for an example) or create your own by using a sharp craft knife to trim circles of 9/16, 5/8, 3/4, 1, 1-3/8, 1-1/2 and 1-5/8 inches in diameter from a piece of stiff plastic or cardboard.

2. Place each marble through each hole of the template, starting with the largest hole and working toward the smallest hole.

3. Note the measurement of the smallest hole each marble successfully passed through; this is the marble's designated size, even if its actual size is slightly larger or smaller.

References

• Antiques Journal: Marvelous Marbles
• Kids Turn Central: Marbles

Resources

• Glass Marbles: Marble Sizing Template