Games to Play With Marbles

Press the button for three fun games to play with marbles, each with its rules, players and how many marbles.

Games to Play With Marbles

  1. Arch Board1. Cut five arches in the long side of a shoebox and write a number from 1 to 5 over each, with the highest numbers over the narrowest arches. 2. Stand the box on the floor, arches down. 3. From a line three steps away, roll your five marbles at the arches. 4. A marble that goes through scores that arch’s number. Players: 1 to 6. Marbles: five each. Where: a carpet or a rug, or a chalk ring or line on pavement. Wins: the highest total after everyone has rolled five. One common way to play.
  2. Closest to the Line1. Chalk a line, or lay a ruler on a rug, four steps away. 2. Roll your five marbles toward it, one at a time. 3. Measure the gap from the line to your best marble in finger widths. A marble that crosses the line does not count. Players: 1. Marbles: five. Where: a chalk ring or line on pavement, or a carpet or a rug, or a flat patch of dirt. Wins: beat your own best gap. One common way to play.
  3. Chase1. The first player rolls a marble a few steps ahead. 2. The second shoots at it. A hit scores one, and a miss stays where it lands. 3. Now the first player shoots at the second player’s marble from where their own lies. 4. Keep going, taking turns, along a path or across a room. Players: 2. Marbles: one shooter each. Where: a chalk ring or line on pavement, or a flat patch of dirt, or a carpet or a rug. Wins: the first player to five hits. One common way to play.

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How it works

These 20 games to play with marbles need marbles and a ring, a hole or a shoebox. The big marble you flick is the shooter, or taw; to knuckle down is to shoot with a knuckle on the ground.

Read the full guide

The words of the game

The marbles you aim at are the ducks. To decide who goes first, everyone rolls at a line or a hole, and the closest starts. Playing for keeps means that a winner keeps the marbles won. No game here is played that way: every marble goes back to its owner at the end.

Pick by players and place

The list beside the button holds five kinds, from Ring games to Games for one. Under More filters, Where keeps the games for Pavement and chalk (16), Carpet or a rug (10) or A patch of dirt (15). Distances are in steps, so shorten them for small hands.

Tips
  • The American Academy of Pediatrics lists marbles among household choking hazards for infants and young children.

Questions and answers

How do you play marbles?

In one well-known game, small marbles sit inside a ring drawn on the ground. Players take turns to knuckle down outside it and flick a larger shooter at them, and the player who knocks the most out of the ring wins.

How many marbles do you need?

It depends on the game. Eleven of the 20 need three to five marbles a player, five of those with a shooter as well. The three chasing games need one shooter each, and Ring Taw, the championship game, uses 49 small marbles.

What can one child play alone with marbles?

Games for one holds 3: Clear the Ring, Count Your Shots; Closest to the Line; and Ten Plums in a Row. Each is scored against your own best, and Arch Board works alone too.

Can you play marbles indoors?

Yes. Choose Carpet or a rug for 10 games: a loop of string stands in for the chalk ring, a saucer for the hole and a shoebox for the arches.

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All 20 games

Ring games 4

  • Kanche 1. Everyone flicks a marble from behind a line toward a small hole. The closest goes first. 2. Put all the marbles in the middle of a circle. 3. In turn, flick your striker to knock marbles out of the circle. 4. Carry on until the circle is empty. Players: 2 to 6. Marbles: five each and one striker each. Where: a chalk ring or line on pavement, or a flat patch of dirt. Wins: whoever struck the most marbles out of the circle. A game from South Asia, checked against Wikipedia’s Marble (toy) page.
  • Ring Taw 1. Draw a ring about six feet across and scatter the 49 marbles in it. 2. Play as two teams. In turn, each player flicks the larger marble, the tolley, from the edge of the ring with the tip of a finger. 3. Every marble driven out of the ring scores one for the team. Players: 2 to 6. Marbles: 49 small marbles in all and one larger shooter each. Where: a chalk ring or line on pavement, or a flat patch of dirt. Wins: the first team to knock out 25 of the 49. A small version of the championship game, which is played by two teams of six, checked against Wikipedia’s British and World Marbles Championship page.
  • Ringer 1. Draw a big ring and set the small marbles, the ducks, in the middle. 2. Take turns to knuckle down outside the ring and flick your shooter at them. 3. Knock a duck out and you shoot again, but only if your shooter stays inside the ring. 4. Miss, and the turn passes on. Players: 2 to 6. Marbles: a handful each and one shooter each. Where: a chalk ring or line on pavement, or a flat patch of dirt. Wins: whoever has knocked the most ducks out when the ring is empty. Checked against the ring game on Wikipedia’s Marble (toy) page and the shooter rule on its National Marbles Tournament page.
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Ring games, continued

  • Small Ring, Three Each 1. Draw a ring as wide as your forearm is long, or lay a loop of string on a rug. 2. Each player puts three marbles in it. 3. Shoot from a line two steps back. A marble you knock out is yours for this round. 4. A shooter that stops inside the ring stays there as a target until someone knocks it out. Players: 2 to 4. Marbles: three each and one shooter each. Where: a chalk ring or line on pavement, or a carpet or a rug, or a flat patch of dirt. Wins: the most marbles knocked out when the ring is empty. One common way to play.

Hole games 4

  • Five in the Pot 1. Use one hole in the dirt, or lay a saucer on a rug as the pot. 2. Stand on a line three steps away. 3. In turn, toss all five of your marbles underhand, one at a time. 4. Count how many stay in the pot, take them out, and the next player throws. Players: 2 to 5. Marbles: five each. Where: a flat patch of dirt, or a carpet or a rug. Wins: the highest count after three rounds. One common way to play.
  • One Hole 1. Scoop one hole the size of a fist and draw a line four steps away. 2. In turn, roll or flick one marble from the line toward the hole. 3. A marble that drops in scores one. 4. A marble that stops short stays where it is, and may be nudged in by a later shot, which then scores for the nudger. Players: 2 to 4. Marbles: five each. Where: a flat patch of dirt. Wins: the most marbles holed after five turns each. One common way to play.
  • Pili Goli 1. Scoop a few shallow holes in the dirt and scatter the marbles around the field. 2. In turn, flick your striker so that it knocks one of the other marbles into a hole. 3. A marble that drops in scores for the player who sent it there. Players: 2 to 4. Marbles: five each and one striker each. Where: a flat patch of dirt. Wins: the most marbles sent into holes. A game from South Asia, checked against Wikipedia’s Marble (toy) page.
  • Three Holes There and Back 1. Scoop three holes in a line, three steps apart. 2. From a start line, shoot for the first hole. When you are in, shoot from its edge for the second, then for the third. 3. Then come back: second, first. 4. One shot a turn, and a miss stays where it lands until your next turn. Players: 2 to 4. Marbles: one shooter each. Where: a flat patch of dirt. Wins: the first player home through all five holes. One common way to play.

Target and arch games 6

  • Arch Board 1. Cut five arches in the long side of a shoebox and write a number from 1 to 5 over each, with the highest numbers over the narrowest arches. 2. Stand the box on the floor, arches down. 3. From a line three steps away, roll your five marbles at the arches. 4. A marble that goes through scores that arch’s number. Players: 1 to 6. Marbles: five each. Where: a carpet or a rug, or a chalk ring or line on pavement. Wins: the highest total after everyone has rolled five. One common way to play.
  • Bounce Eye 1. Draw a ring a foot across and put everyone’s marbles in a tight cluster in the middle, keeping one back each. 2. In turn, stand over the ring, hold your last marble beside your eye and let it drop. 3. Marbles that it knocks out of the ring are your score for that turn, and they go back in the cluster. Players: 2 to 4. Marbles: three each. Where: a chalk ring or line on pavement, or a carpet or a rug. Wins: the highest score after three drops each. One common way to play.
  • Castles 1. Each player builds a castle: three marbles touching in a triangle and a fourth resting on top. 2. Shoot in turn from a line three steps back at any castle but your own. 3. Knock the top marble off a castle and you score one. 4. The owner rebuilds it before the next shot. Players: 2 to 4. Marbles: four each and one shooter each. Where: a chalk ring or line on pavement, or a carpet or a rug. Wins: the first player to topple five castles. One common way to play.
  • Die Shot 1. Press the spare marble into a small ring of modeling dough, or a dent in the dirt, and balance the die on top. 2. Shoot in turn from three steps away. 3. Knock the die off and you score the number that lands face up. 4. Set the die back on the marble after every hit. Players: 2 to 4. Marbles: one shooter each, one spare marble and one die. Where: a chalk ring or line on pavement, or a carpet or a rug. Wins: the first player to reach 15. One common way to play.
  • Picking Plums 1. Draw a line and set each player’s four marbles, the plums, along it with gaps between them. 2. Shoot from a second line three steps away. 3. A plum that you knock off the line is picked. 4. One shot a turn, and a shooter that stops on the line is lifted off. Players: 2 to 4. Marbles: four each and one shooter each. Where: a chalk ring or line on pavement, or a flat patch of dirt. Wins: the most plums picked when the line is bare. One common way to play.
  • Wall Shot 1. Draw a line two steps out from a wall. 2. In turn, roll a marble at the wall so that it bounces back toward the line. 3. When everyone has rolled all three, see whose marble has stopped closest to the line, on either side of it. Players: 2 to 4. Marbles: three each. Where: a chalk ring or line on pavement. Wins: the closest marble takes the round, and three rounds take the game. One common way to play.

Chasing games for two 3

  • Chase 1. The first player rolls a marble a few steps ahead. 2. The second shoots at it. A hit scores one, and a miss stays where it lands. 3. Now the first player shoots at the second player’s marble from where their own lies. 4. Keep going, taking turns, along a path or across a room. Players: 2. Marbles: one shooter each. Where: a chalk ring or line on pavement, or a flat patch of dirt, or a carpet or a rug. Wins: the first player to five hits. One common way to play.
  • Shoot and Hide 1. Chalk a course around three obstacles, such as a tree, a bench leg and a drain cover. 2. The first player shoots toward the first obstacle and may tuck in behind it. 3. The second player may shoot for the obstacle or at the first player’s marble. A hit sends the other player back one obstacle. Players: 2. Marbles: one shooter each. Where: a chalk ring or line on pavement, or a flat patch of dirt. Wins: the first marble to pass all three obstacles. One common way to play.
  • Spans 1. Play as in a chasing game, shooting in turn at the other player’s marble. 2. A hit scores two. 3. A near miss can score too: if you can touch both marbles with the thumb and little finger of one spread hand, that is a span, and it scores one. Players: 2. Marbles: one shooter each. Where: a chalk ring or line on pavement, or a flat patch of dirt, or a carpet or a rug. Wins: the first player to ten. One common way to play.

Games for one 3

  • Clear the Ring, Count Your Shots 1. Draw a ring, or lay a loop of string on a rug, and scatter ten marbles in it. 2. Knuckle down at the edge and shoot them out one by one. 3. Shoot from wherever your shooter stops, or from the edge when it leaves the ring. 4. Count every shot you take. Players: 1. Marbles: ten and one shooter. Where: a chalk ring or line on pavement, or a carpet or a rug, or a flat patch of dirt. Wins: beat your own lowest count of shots. One common way to play.
  • Closest to the Line 1. Chalk a line, or lay a ruler on a rug, four steps away. 2. Roll your five marbles toward it, one at a time. 3. Measure the gap from the line to your best marble in finger widths. A marble that crosses the line does not count. Players: 1. Marbles: five. Where: a chalk ring or line on pavement, or a carpet or a rug, or a flat patch of dirt. Wins: beat your own best gap. One common way to play.
  • Ten Plums in a Row 1. Set ten marbles along a line with a thumb’s width between them. 2. From a second line three steps back, shoot them off one at a time, starting at the left end. 3. A marble counts only if it is hit in its turn. Note how many shots the row takes. Players: 1. Marbles: ten and one shooter. Where: a chalk ring or line on pavement, or a flat patch of dirt. Wins: beat your own lowest number of shots. One common way to play.

How this list was compiled: Written by the Game Night Generator editors on 2026-10-03, in our own words. Checked on 2026-10-03 against English Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0): the ring game called ring taw or ringer, kanche, pili goli and the playing terms knuckle down, taw or shooter, ducks and for keeps, at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marble_(toy); the 49 marbles, the six-foot ring, the tolley and the first team to 25, at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_and_World_Marbles_Championship; the rule that a player who knocks a marble out shoots again only if the shooter stays in the ring, at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Marbles_Tournament. The other games are playground games passed on by word of mouth under many names; we found no reference page for them on the day, so each is given as one common way to play, with distances in steps that players can change. Every game here is played for fair: the marbles go back to their owners at the end. The American Academy of Pediatrics lists marbles among the household items that are choking hazards for infants and children, at https://www.healthychildren.org/English/health-issues/injuries-emergencies/Pages/Choking-Prevention.aspx, read on 2026-10-03. Licence: own work