How to Make & Play Homemade Marbles

Marbles are played in schools across the world.

The game of marbles is a timeless classic among children from all over the world. No one is sure how long we have been playing with them but clay marbles have even been discovered in Egyptian tombs. To make the activity even more fun, it is simple to create your own marbles quickly, adding to the pleasure of such a simple pursuit.

Things You'll Need

• Baking/self-hardening clay
• Chalk

Instructions

1. Break off a small piece of clay. Roll the clay into a smooth ball shape. Repeat this process up to 10 times. Also make a larger marble by using a larger piece of clay.

2. Leave the clay to self harden on a smooth and untextured surface if using self-hardening clay; a plate is ideal. If using baking clay, follow the instructions on the clay's packaging. While self-hardening clay can take hours to harden, baking clay can harden in as little as an hour. Let the marbles cool to avoid burning yourself.

3. To play marbles, you and another player start with an equal amount of marbles. Draw a chalk ring on a smooth surface such as a paving stone. Make sure the surface is level and free of debris. Place all the marbles in the middle of the circle. Using a larger marble, try and knock your opponent's marbles out of the circle. If you succeed in knocking one of their marbles out of the ring, you may keep it. If you knock one of your own out of the ring, the other player keeps it. Once all the marbles have been claimed by one of the players, that player is declared the winner.

Tips & Warnings

• Buy the clay in several different colors to add variety and to help identify whose marble has been knocked out of the game.

• An adult should always supervise any child that is making marbles.

References

• Squigly's Arts & Crafts: Marbles
• Big Ceramic Store: Ovencraft