Brits lose their marbles to Germans in annual World Championship

ADVERTISEMENT

A German team has won the World Marbles Chamionships - its seventh world title in the last 13 years.

1st MC Erzgebirge took the title from former champions Black Dog Boozers by 39–0 in a one-sided final, at the event held at Tinsley Green in West Sussex.

It is claimed marbles has been played in the area for hundreds of years.

Here's how the game is played

• To decide who starts the game, each team captain has a 'nose drop', where a marble is held on the tip of their nose and dropped onto the playing surface. The marble closest to the edge of the ring without going outside the ring plays first.
• Players are each armed with a "tolley" or "shooter" marble which is their playing marble and is slightly bigger than the 49 others in the game.
• A point is scored for each marble their "shooter" knocks out of the ring.
• A player's knuckle must be touching the ground when shooting - this is known as 'knuckling down'.
• The first team to reach 25 points wins.