I want to describe a pair of awful white bulging eyes as “taws” because of their size – but, knowing nothing about the game, I’d like to know if there are white taws. Or would they mostly be of a certain color or be otherwise beautiful? I’d appreciate learning just what the word “taw” brings to mind. Thanks. You can email me at bmiller [at] sjcsf [dot] edu
I would like some help in teaching my son some marble games and rules. I picked up a bag of marbles at a farmstand and thought it would be fun to teach him, but having never played myself I need some help. He thinks they are great to look at, but I was trying to tell him that he and his friends could have a lot of fun playing. Any general game rules would be appreciated. You can email me at lvidean [at] hotmail [dot] com.
udy Callahan: I was looking for someone that played “Potsy’. Have you learned anything more about how to play? I am putting together a book of GRandma’s Games for the young people to get them into activities that will give tham an opportunity to get some exersize and interact with their peers. I played it as an elementary student and it was my favorite game of marbles.
We played a game in New Hampshire in the early ’70’s that we called Boots and Saddles. It was similar to the canadian game ( not surprising since we share a border and many cultural roots. We dug a hole and tossed marbles at it, but then we used a combination of booting it with your feet as in other games, and flipping it with our fingers. I can’t remember the criteria for which to use when. I think the game was won by the one to get the last marble in the hole. The starting point of the game depended on how much space we had, and sometimes we would stand back 20 feet or more for the opening toss. Does anyone know when to use boots and when to use saddles? Boots were pretty accurate and also used for distance. I think saddles may have been used for the last short shot.