The mother of all marble games is without a doubt rolley hole, a game invented in the
early days of colonization of
Tennessee and
Kentucky. Rolley hole is to other marble
games as
chess is to
checkers. The game is, in simple terms, a
combination of
golf,
croquet, and marbles. It is an exacting
sport, a game which requires
dexterity,
concentration, an in depth
perception of
spacial relations, and above all,
practice.
Rolley hole is played in teams of two. The object is to move your team's marbles across
the playing field, landing it in three holes, one on each side of the field, and one in
the middle. And whilst you are doing it, it is usually helpful to prevent the other
team from doing so by shooting your marble at theirs to knock it off the field. The
game would still be impressive, even if it were not played on fields of up to twenty
feet in length.
One who is a master of rolley hole is a master of all marble games. If this were not
evident in the skill required to play the game, in 1991 the marble champions of
Great Britain came to America to challenge the Rolley Holers to a game of British
marbles. In short, the British were creamed, by a nine year old and his father,
neither of whom had ever even won the local championship. Then, in 1992, a team of
six Kentuckian Rolley Holers went to England to compete in an international
tournament. There, they defeated every single team. Dutch, British, French, and
even other Americans were utterly destroyed in landslide victories.
So that's a basic summary of rolley hole, the most intense marble game out there. Think
you've got some weird hobbies?