The Kinds of Playing Marbles
Marbles come in a variety of different sizes, designs, colors and even materials. To play a game of marbles, children usually draw a circle in the dirt, each places a marble in the circle as an ante and then they take turns trying to knock the marbles out of the circle using a shooter marble. Players win the marbles they displace. Different types of marbles hold varying values in this game.
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Cat's Eyes
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First produced in Japan, cat's eye marbles found their way into the hearts of American children in the 1950s. Twenty years later these marbles became one of most popular types. In a game of marbles, players covet the rarer, higher priced marbles. Since everyone seemed to have a bunch of cat's eyes in their collection, they lost their value in the game of marbles. Cat's eyes generally consist of clear glass with a swirl of color inside.
Taw
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A taw marble is defined by its use and its size, instead of its color or the material used to make it. Players use their taws as shooter marbles. Many times they are a player's favorite marble because they use it the most often. The National Marble Tournament insists that the diameter of taw marble be no larger than ¾ of an inch or smaller than ½-inch.
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Alley
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Short for alabaster, alley marbles consist of real alabaster or marble, often streaked with wavy or spiral patterns. They may also be glass marbles that resemble real marble. A player's most expensive marble in his collection may very well be his alley, which means give it high value in a game of marbles. For a high stakes marble game, all the players may use their alleys for the ante.
Aggies
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Aggie marbles came out in the 1800s. Originally they were made out of the mineral agate, which made them better shooters because they were harder than other marbles. However, like alleys, glass marbles made to look like agate are also called aggies. The National Marble Tournament gives out agate aggies to its winners.
Commies
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One of the world's oldest known marbles, commies are made out of clay. Poor children could make these marbles themselves by hand-rolling the clay into little balls and allowing the clay to air dry. These marbles lacked color or pattern. However, when manufacturers began producing clay marbles commercially in the late 1800s, they gave the commies color and a speckled patterned.
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