sprockle

sprockle CULTURE — A children’s game. Sprockle is a children’s game involving fist-sized wooden balls most often carved from softwoods such as pine or cypress. The game is played by drawing a circle in the dirt with several sprockle balls positioned within it. Each player has several sprockle balls and takes turns trying to knock the other balls from the circle. If a player successfully knocks a ball from the circle, that ball now belongs to them. If their ball travels through the circle and comes out on the other side, they can retrieve it as well as any other balls dislodged. If the ball sticks within the circle, whether or not another ball is knocked free, it remains within the circle and is open play for other players to try and win. The first person to run out of sprockle balls is the loser and the player with the most balls at the end of the game is the winner. Specific details of the game vary as the rules are loosely established and change from region to region. Sprockle balls—“sprockles”—may be elaborately decorated with paint, dye, etchings and other ornamentations, especially the “play” ball—any player’s primary sprockle used for dislodging balls from within the circle.