I grew up in the South Bronx in the 60’s and we used to call this game “skellzies”. We spent many hot summer days avoiding the cars while we laid on the ground trying to calculate each shot carefully. We used whatever we could get our hands on be it soda bottle caps and liquor bottle caps which seemed to be plentiful on some streets back then. We also used to trim the top rim of the soda bottles by gradually scraping it on the sidewalk curb. These glass pieces worked great because they seemed to glide such a long distance instead of the cumbersome caps we used to use.

Yet, “skellzies” also had a killer instinct quality to the game. You see the only way to stop someone from beating you, if you could help it, was to blast their pieces into kingdom come.

This was easily acomplished when someone in my class brought a bottle opener to school and proceeded to fiddle around with the metal bottom glide of a school desk. When he succeeded, we ran out of the classroom, out of the building and followed him around the block. He immediately sat on the curb and pulled out of his pocket a popsicle stick. Then he began to dig deep into the tar on the street. He filled his metal glide piece with the tar. Once completed, he challenged us to a game of “skellzies”. We all gathered together in anticipation of what this “new” challenger piece could do. As we began play, it became evident what this metal glide piece could do. It could slide long distances like the glass pieces yet it was durable. But most of all it was dominating. He sent all of the challenger’s pieces into kingdom come. They went flying across the street and under parked cars. As for the glass pieces, you guessed it! They were smashed into smithereens. I mean it was ugly!!! The replacement bottle caps did not fare well either. The “Dominator” was born!!!

Of course, you all know the rest of the story. Shortly after the “Dominator victory”, all the desks at school had no metal glide bottoms.

This caused such a scandal that the whole school had detention for a week. Ahhh, but it was worth it!!

The sight of game pieces flying all about as we challenged our neighbors in “skeelzies” and coming away with the spoils of war, was and still is a glorious memory today.

Thanks for bringing your website to us all.