What connect British children, a piece of string and a nut you can’t eat? The answer is a game called ‘conkers’. For the last hundred and fifty years, children in the UK have collected shiny brown nuts from under in September and October, when it’s autumn in Britain. They use these nuts – called ‘conkers’ – to play a game, which is also called ‘conkers’.
Conkers: a traditional children's game
How to play
To play the game, you need two players, two conkers and two pieces of string about 20cm long. Each player makes a hole in the middle of their conker and pulls their string through the hole. They tie the string to stop the conker falling off. One player holds their conker up by the string, and the other player then swings their conker at the other one as hard as they can. Then it’s the other player’s turn to hold up their conker. The winner is the player whose conker breaks the other player’s conker.
Advanced rules
If the two strings get tied together, the first player to shout ‘Strings!’ can have another turn. If one player’s conker falls on the ground, that player tries to shout ‘No stamps!’ before their friend can shout ‘stamps!’. If the first player is successful, they can pick their conker up and continue playing. If not, their friend can stamp on the conker (break it with their foot) and he or she wins the game!
Tricks to win
Some people try to make their conkers harder by baking them, soaking them or keeping them for a long time. Some schools have stopped children playing conkers in the playground because they don’t want children to hurt themselves. Now there are even games of conkers you can play online, but they are not as much fun as the real thing!
