skittles game. In the case of the peculiar Rolly Polly, above, a heavily biased ball was developed -

From these old games, various miniaturised versions appeared which were more convenient for many pubs with limited space. These include Northamptonshire Skittles and the extremely popular Table Skittles or Devil Amongst The Tailors. large disks with a large bias in an effort to get them close to a stake at the other end of the game Daddlums is a Hood Skittles variant in which the cheese is normally thrown so that it lands near the game fell into disrepute before long as it tended to attract crowds of undesirables and to be played League, only the middle pin is re-erected once all nine have been toppled giving a maxiumum score ofsomewhat confusingly known simply as "Skittles" - this is possible because Americans don't play the In practice, Dorsetskittles is much the same game as the one played inDevon and Somerset, that is to say the pins and balls used are of a similar design and size, including a slightly taller kingpin, or 'Landlord'which is not found in other areas such as Bristol and the Three Counties.There is however one aspect of the game whichseems to have originatedin the county.The clueis in the name! Of all the modern games, this is the game with the oldest pedigree. Illustrations from centuries ago

Modern Ten Pin Bowling is a bit of a travesty of the real thing; having been sanitised, automated and To prepare each nine miniature pins are positioned on a small platform within the square game board. In the corner of the board, stands a pole with a ball suspended by a chain from its top. The ball is swung around the pole in such a way that upon its return, it ploughs through nine skittles on a platform. Aside from the equipment and the location on a table top, the rules are pretty much the same as skittles with the maximum theoretical score in one turn being 27 points. As with several pub games, scoring is often performed on a cribbage board. Skittles, in all its myriad forms and regional variations,isa gameof wide social appeal. Perhaps more thanany other traditional pub game, throwing things at a set of wooden pins is somethingthat everyone seemsto enjoy.Asimple game to understand, and there's likely to be a version withinthe capabilities of almost anyone. I believe that skittles is also more socially inclusive thanotherpub games,even at league level where teams can be drawn from all social classes and age levels, male or female. Anyone can have a go, no experience necessary. One of the quirks of skittles as it's played in Britain, and one which enthusiasts of the 10-pin 'Bowling' game probablyfind frustrating, is that skittle balls have no holes for the fingers to grip. Skittle balls vary in size, but one thing they all have in common is that they weigh a fair bit, all the better to do the damage at the business end of the alley. Traditionally the dense, hard-as-nails wood Lignum Vitae has been used for the West Country game, though many now use resin or rubber coated equivalents. The size and weight of theseballs can make them quite difficult to handle, particularly if your hands are small. The colourfully named Dorset Flop gets round this by being a two-handed delivery, one in which the player launches themselves forward, 'flopping' down onto the alley once their hands are free of the ball. It's a very accurate method, andone that's become very popular throughout much of the West Country, particularly with younger players.games of this era, it seems likely to have originated in England or France but it's not clear which.

a Kingpin which must be hit first or else no score is counted... Local variations aside, Long Alley feature at the Bishopsworth Legion Club where it has been played for around 25 years. The author is been occuring, as it did for so many other old English games. This would tend to happen so that pubprevents wayward cheeses and pins flying off into other parts of the pub. Most people who've played, of the all-important line so that any balls that don't quite make it bounce with a clang to indicate There are variations from town to town and even pub to pub as to the further details. For instance in

The nine wooden skittles are ten inches high and shaped like a stunted cigar, with the diameter in the middle being typically 4.5 inches and the diameter at the ends about 3 inches. Balls are traditionally made from heavy wood (nowadays rubber or resin) and any size greater than a tennis ball and less than a cannonball can be used (five inches diameter should be about right). A full size Skittles alley is usually around six feet wide and normally made of wood although other surfaces can be used. The distance from the throwing line to the front skittle is not usually less than 24 feet but in some areas can be significantly more than 30 feet. Sometimes one of the pins, known as a kingpin, is slightly larger than the others - it's position would normally be in the middle or at the front. The pins are larger and thinner than the West Country variety, being 13 - 14 inches high, although the shape is similar - thinner at either end than the middle. They are made from oak or other hardwood and often have iron bands at either end for increased strength. One skittle is taller than the others - this is usually achieved by the addition of a round bobble on the top of an ordinary pin. The resulting shape is similar to the 10 Pin Bowling skittle and gives it a 2 inch height advantage. The pins are set about 20 inches apart with the larger "kingpin" usually being positioned at the front of the set of nine. for (apart from the legs, don't know what happened to them) and lovingly polished since then, and is but was distinguished by the use of finger holes in the balls, by the pins being taller and thinner Frost fairs shows that Nine Pins was consistently one of the entertainments. On the left is a smalltable about 8 feet away. It is extremely popular Northamptonshire and well known in Leicestershire, Around Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire, they play with shaped skittles and balls, traditionally made Skittles game from Holland. It was probably the Dutch who took their version of skittles to America Skittles or Nine Pins has long been played in the Inns of England. In general, players take turns to the same way. The author can vouch that it needs a fair show of strength and control to deliver the