Playing marbles was once a popular pastime at recess time, during the noon hour, after school, and even on weekends. And the popularity of this particular game even continued on into the summer vacation months in many neighborhoods.

All that was needed to play this game were several of the small colorful glass spheres and a larger marble called the &uot;shooter.&uot; Marbles were available for purchase at &uot;dime stores&uot; and other retail outlets.

For the playing area, a small plot of bare ground in fairly dry condition was all that was needed. The ring for the game could be created on the dirt surface with a stick or even a finger.

Marbles could also be played on a sidewalk or paved driveway with the circle created with chalk. However, this game was mighty hard on knees no matter where it was played. As a result, the vast majority of the marble games were played on bare ground. Thus, dirtier than average knee areas on pants, jeans and overalls gave mothers something to contend with on laundry day.

Marbles is actually a very old game with a clearly defined set of rules. In many schools and communities the popularity of this game resulted in tournaments the local champion. These events even had scorekeepers and referees.

Proof that marble tournaments were once held in Albert Lea can be found, with the rules, in the March 23, 1929, issue of the Tribune. This article said:

&uot; … should there be any ambitious fellows who want to get out In the mud and play, here are the rules:

&uot;The Game: Only two boys play at a time. Each boy puts five marbles Into a ring nine inches In diameter. Players stand behind the ring and “lag” for a line 12 feet from the ring. Player whose marble comes to rest nearest the lagging line shoots first. …

&uot;Rules of the Game: 1. Players must ‘Knuckle Down.’ 2. Players may use any kind or size of shooter. 3. Players may change shooters at any time. 4. Player may have as many marbles as his shooter knocks out of the ring. 5. A marble touching the ring is in. 6. Player continues shooting until he fails to knock out any marbles. 7. The player getting six of the 10 marbles wins the game.

&uot;Rules of the Tournament:1. Only boys under 13 years of age may enter. (Despite this restriction, some girls liked to play marbles.) 2. Three games make a set. Player winning two of three games is winner of the set. 3. Should one of the three games be a tie, and each player has one game, playing must continue until one of the players wins one more game. 4. Should two of the three games be tied, playing must continue until one player has won two more games than his partner. 5. Winner of a set plays some other winner of a set, and so on until the champion of the room (school or town) Is determined. 6. As soon as a player Is defeated he Is out of the tournament and cannot re-enter. 7. Players are expected to play fair.&uot;

In nearly all marble games, including tournaments, the winner got to keep the marbles his shooter knocked out of the ring. This may have resulted in the once popular saying, &uot;He who has the most marbles wins.&uot;

Another saying indicated that when the competition was over, &uot;He took all hi marbles and went home.&uot; Then again, maybe a dispute could have resulted in a request to &uot;just take your marbles and leave.&uot;

One saying,&uot; He doesn’t have all his marbles in the same sack,&uot; could be considered as a brutal insult, or as a complimentary statement. This last part is based on the idea of a young person coming to the competition with all his or her marbles in a sack. Then at the end of the day or tournament, another sack would be needed for all the newly won marbles.

Marbles used for Chinese checkers and similar board games came in plain colors. Those used in the more rugged outdoor games of marbles had varied colors with descriptive names like peppermint stripe, cat’s eye, rainbow, moonstone and marine.