 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (May 2019) |
.jpg) | |
| Years active | 1888 to present |
|---|---|
| Genres | Skill & action game |
| Players | usually 2 or 4; sometimes 3; 6 for a triples match |
| Setup time | 1 minute |
| Playing time | 30 minutes to an hour |
| Skills | Strategy, physical skill |
| Synonyms | Winks |
Tiddlywinks is a game played on a flat felt mat with sets of small discs called "winks", a pot, which is the target, and a collection of squidgers, which are also discs. Players use a "squidger" (nowadays made of plastic) to shoot a wink into flight by flicking the squidger across the top of a wink and then over its edge, thereby propelling it into the air. The offensive objective of the game is to score points by sending your own winks into the pot. The defensive objective of the game is to prevent your opponents from potting their winks by "squopping" them: shooting your own winks to land on top of your opponents' winks. As part of strategic gameplay, players often attempt to squop their opponents' winks and develop, maintain and break up large piles of winks.
Tiddlywinks is sometimes considered a simple-minded, frivolous children's game, rather than a sophisticated strategic game.[3][4][5] However, the modern competitive game of tiddlywinks made a strong comeback at the University of Cambridge in 1955. The modern game uses far more complex rules and a consistent set of high-grade equipment.
- ^ Irwin, Stephen (19 January 2021). "Tiddlywinks". Blackburn Museum and Art Gallery. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
- ^ Milton Bradley (1937). "Tiddledy Winks game cover". Fine Art America. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
- ^ Struble, Lillie (15 April 1978). "Letters to the Editor". Library Journal: 790.
Have we sold our precious heritage in exchange for frivolity and a game of tiddlywinks
- ^ Mackay, James A. (1976). Childhood antiques. Taplinger Publishing Company. p. 76. ISBN 9780800814427.
There were some board games, however, which provided little or no intellectual stimulus. Chief among these was […] tiddlywinks, whose apparent inanity (to the uninitiated) is often regarded as the ultimate in useless activities.
- ^ Wooldridge, Ian (1960s). "(unknown title)". British Airways magazine (Interview).
At the risk of propagating royal support for tiddlywinks, a game of the utmost tedium played by anti-athletes too tired or apathetic to get up off the floor, I have to concede that his argument makes sense.
(of the UK Olympic Committee)