How To Play Kancha

Kancha, or Marbles, is one of the most popular Indian games. It is played all over the country, mostly by boys, and appeals to people of all ages.

The game of marbles is quite old, all the way back to ancient civilizations, and has been played by kids for thousands of years.

The objective of the game is throw marbles out of a certain ring. Players can play to take home opponents’ marbles or play for fun and time passes.

Let’s discuss how to play Kancha or marbles, from setup to shooting to winning, and how to play variations on the classic rules.

You can play various games with marbles. In one of the games with marbles, a circle with a diameter of approximately 2-3 feet is drawn in the ground using a stick or a stone.

Each player contributes two marbles each to begin the game. All the marbles are placed at the centre of the circle. To decide the turns for the players, they draw a line three feet away from the circle.

The players stand in the second line and try to throw their marbles into the hole. The player who makes it closest to the hole plays first, followed by the second closest.

Table of Contents

To play the game, the player starts to shoot marbles. The player holds the marble tautly in the forefinger of the left hand, then stretches the finger back like a bow-string by the pressure of the forefinger of the right hand and finally by releasing the finger such that the marble flies forward.

At all times, the left thumb should firmly touch the ground. The players take turns knocking marbles out of the circle. They get to keep the marbles that they knocked out of the circle.

When there are there are no more marbles left in the circle, the game ends. The player with the highest number of marbles wins the game.

Rules of Kancha

Draw a circle about 3 ft (0.91 m) across a flat surface. Each player adds 10-15 marbles to the circle and chooses their shooter. Take turns using your shooter to knock marbles out of the circle. Whoever knocks out the most wins.

Setting Up the Kancha

Step 1:Draw a circle on the pavement in chalk, or make a circle with string.

To start the game, players draw a ring on the ground. Usually, marble rings are around 3–10 ft (0.91–3.05 m) in diameter.It is recommended making your ring 3 ft (0.91 m) across for a beginner. Draw the circle as evenly as you can to ensure a fair game.

To create a perfect circle, tie a piece of chalk to a 1.5-ft (0.46-m) long string. Hold the end of the string to the ground and orbit the chalk in a circle around it.
Or, cut a piece of string about 10 ft (3.0 m) long, tie the ends together, and place it on the ground, shaping it into a circle. Use this for your ring.
It is best to play marbles on smooth concrete, but it can be fun to shake things up! You can also play on hardwood, short carpet, or any flat surface.

Step 2:Choose a shooter marble.

Your shooter (or “taw”) marble is what you use to knock other marbles (“mibs”) out of the circle. Choose a marble that is bigger than all your other marbles to make it easier to move them.

The qualities of a good shooter marble include its heavier weight and perfectly smooth, rollable roundness.

Other names for the shooter marble include Aggie, boulder, Steele, King, and Middleman.

Step 3: Place 10-15 total marbles in the centre of the ring.

It is good to play with two or more people for more fun. Each player scatters an equal number of marbles into the ring. Space the marbles evenly, but try to place the majority nearer the centre.

How many marbles you choose depends on how long the game you want. The more you place, the longer the game will last.

Place 5 of your marbles into the ring and tell your opponent to do the same.
If you are playing for keeps, it doesn’t matter if the colours are the same. If you are playing for fun, make sure you and your opponents have different coloured marbles to tell them apart.
As a beginner, try playing with just one or two other people to smooth the game.

Step 4:Decide if you want to play for keeps.

Marbles or Kancha can be played “for fun,” meaning that every player keeps their marbles after the match, or “for keeps.”

If you play for keeps, other players can win your marbles to take home after the match by knocking them out of the ring. Decide how you’re playing in advance so you know what to expect while playing.

If you love your marbles, play for fun. If you want another players’ marbles, ask them if they want to play for keeps. You all have to agree beforehand!
Don’t let other players pressure you into playing for keeps if you don’t want to.

Learn to Knock Out Marbles

Step 1:Determine who will go first by shooting marbles toward a line.

Draw a line in the ground with your chalk, then stand about 10 feet (3.04 m) away from your line. Have each player take turns flicking their shooter at the line.

The player whose marble lands closest to the line goes first (with second, third, fourth, etc., going as follows)

This method of determining the playing order is called “lagging.”
Alternatively, decide who goes first with a coin flip or by playing Rock, Paper, Scissors.

Step 2: Kneel outside the ring and shoot your taw marble from the ground.

You aim to knock as many marbles out of the ring as possible each turn, including your opponent’s marble. To shoot your marble, fold your thumb, pinkie, and ring finger into your palm.

Wrap your pointer finger around the marble, holding it against your thumb knuckle. When you’re ready to shoot, flick your thumb out.

When you shoot, at least one part of your hand must touch the ground. Use your dominant hand to shoot the marble.
Some game variations impose a penalty (like losing a turn) if you touch the chalk circle with your knees while shooting. Agree with your friends whether you want to play with this penalty.

Step 3:Grab any marbles you knocked out of the ring.

Your turn ends after you take a single shot. Be sure to gather your marbles before the end of the game, as you might not remember which ones your shooter got out of. Please pick them up right after your turn and gather them in a neat pile.

Some variations of the game state that if you knock a marble out, you get to go again. Ask the other players whether they want to follow this rule.

Step 4: Leave your shooter in the ring if you don’t knock out any marbles.

You will shoot from this spot during your next turn. If another player moves your marble inside the ring, you must play from wherever it lands.

If you successfully knock out one or more marbles, grab your shooter. It’s safe, and the next turn, you will shoot from anywhere outside the ring.
Agree with your friends whether you want to add a penalty, like a lost turn, for those who accidentally move their shooter marble while it’s in the ring.

Winning the Kancha

Step 1: Knock the other player’s shooter marble out for a quick win.

If your opponent is shooting marble inside the ring, it is vulnerable to being knocked out. Players whose shooter marbles are knocked out automatically lose the game. If this person were the only player besides yourself, you would win the game by default.

Because shooter marbles are bigger and heavier, they are generally harder to knock out than other marbles.
Some people choose to play without this rule and instead play until all the smaller marbles are knocked out.

Step 2:Continue knocking out marbles until none are left in the ring.

The game ends when no marbles, including shooters, are left in the ring. Unless your game ends abruptly by knocking other shooters out, this is the only way to end the game. Most marble games last from between 15-30 minutes.

Step 3: Win the game by knocking out more marbles than your opponent.

Count up how many marbles you knocked out. Each marble is worth 1 point. When you have finished counting your marbles, compare how many you have compared to how many the other players knocked out. The player who knocked out the most wins the game.

If you are playing with marbles of different colours or sizes, assign points to each marble type depending on the difficulty.
If you played for keeps, you take home all the marbles you knocked out. If you played for fun, give each player their marbles back.
Some players agree to each give the winner a marble of their choice as a prize.

Other Marbles Games

As mentioned earlier, different games can be played with marbles.

Bullseye: Draw four circles inside one another, and assign each circle a point amount. The centre ring is worth the most points.

Give each player five or more marbles, and take turns shooting them into the ring, aiming for the bullseye or centre. Once everyone has shot their marbles, count your scores to determine the winner.

Please write down the points on a piece of paper and add them up to ensure accuracy.
Aim to knock other players’ marbles out of the centre to make them lose points!

Cherry Pit: Dig a hole about 1 ft (0.30 m) deep into a smooth, dry patch of dirt. Take turns flicking your marbles as closely to the hole as possible without dropping them in. The player whose marble comes closest to the hole without falling wins.

For an added challenge, please make it so that knocking your opponents’ marbles into the hole is allowed.

Dropsies: Dropsies are similar to normal marbles, except you must drop your shooter from shoulder height instead of shooting it from the ground.

Every player scatters five marbles in the ring, and stands around it. Take turns dropping your shooters and trying to knock out other players’ marbles.

This is best played on a softer surface, like carpet or turf, so your marbles don’t break.

Conclusion

The game of marbles helps players develop mathematical and motor skills while improving concentration, hand-eye coordination, and aiming skills.

It also provides opportunities for socializing, having fun, and nurturing healthy competition. Although this old game has recently lost popularity, it will always hold a sweet memory.