Ludo, tiddley winks ... remember the old games ?

[Trees]

Similar game circle facing in hands out behind It walks around while singing I sent a letter to my mother but on the way I dropped it one of you have picked it up and put it in your pocket it isn't you it isn't you  etc until Its you with a tap on the hands..well OK a slap... both run round the circle back to the empty place last back is new, or continues to be, It

[Lydart]

WELL !   

I have started something with this thread !

I can remember lots of the games mentioned, especially the playground games.

No-one has yet mentioned marbles, which as a child in London we used to play on those patterned drain covers everyone had outside their house, for 'rodding through' !   They had diamond patterns on, and a hole at each end for removing, which made satisfactory wells for the marbles to land in.

Then there were all those games you could play with a 2' long loop of string on your fingers and thumbs.  I can still do 'chicken bum'

[aghadowey]

Then there were all those games you could play with a 2' long loop of string on your fingers and thumbs.

Think it was called Cat's Cradle- a sort of hand version of Chinese Hopscotch.

[Trees]

What regional names do you have for "Marbles" we had "Allies" and I think Geordie's had Pinkers or something like that I seem to remember The Spinners singing "Ur Johnie'slost his pinker"
Were peavers the Scottish version of Hop scotch?

[stoney]

What regional names do you have for "Marbles" we had "Allies" and I think Geordie's had Pinkers or something like that I seem to remember The Spinners singing "Ur Johnie'slost his pinker"
Were peavers the Scottish version of Hop scotch?

In Warwickshire, we referred to them as "marlies", we had 1-ers, 2-ers and 4-ers (value depended on the size of the marble).

The playground drains were our favoured areas for a game of marlies - we rolled our marbles down and if your marble ran and settled straight onto the ridges you got it back at the end of the game. If it ran and settled on the hinge you were allowed a second go to get it onto the ridges. If any missed the target they were forfeit!

[Lydart]

I preferred those marbles with coloured swirls inside, but if I remember aright, the big plain ones were called allies, and were rarer, and therefore had more swapping power ! 

[stoney]

I preferred those marbles with coloured swirls inside, but if I remember aright, the big plain ones were called allies, and were rarer, and therefore had more swapping power ! 

Yeah - if you had a regular-sized marble with multiple swirls of colour in the glass they had more value, as you say.

I tried to get my son interested in them when he was a lad, but he just used to hoard them in a glass cookie jar. They now make a very effective door-stop! 

[stoney]

Then there were all those games you could play with a 2' long loop of string on your fingers and thumbs.

Think it was called Cat's Cradle- a sort of hand version of Chinese Hopscotch.

I remember Cat's cradle! You needed a partner for that, but there were some you could do solo - Like Eiffel Tower and The Parachute.


And I can still remember how to do them!

[Trees]

We called our conkers 1 ers 2 ers etc did you have anything special to harden yous up?