Tiddlywinks
There is much more than meets the eye with Tiddlywinks. Though it may
appear to be a simple game, playing it successfully requires a great
deal of dexterity and skill. Most consider it a novelty for children,
but this is also deceptive: it began as a game for adults and is still
played in a very serious fashion by adult-run clubs all over the world.
In fact, the game of Tiddlywinks has a very involved and interesting
history.
Tiddlywinks originated in England during the late 1800’s. Its name
comes from “tiddly wink,” which is English slang for an unlicensed pub.
Tiddlywinks was popularized in pubs as a diversion to be indulged in
while downing a few pints, much like darts or checkers. The game
consists of a mat with a small, round pot at its center and several
little discs made in four colors (blue, green, red, and yellow). Blue
and red are always partners against yellow and green and are laid
across from each other diagonally around the pot in alphabetical order.
Within each color there are six disks: four smaller ones called
winks and two larger ones known as squidgers. These disks are arranged
by the lines of four boxes drawn at the corners of the mat. The idea is
for the players to shoot their winks into the pot by pressing a
squidger down on the edge of the wink to make it ‘flip’ towards the
pot. The player can also keep the other players from reaching the pot
by “squopping” one of their discs: in other words, by landing one of
their winks on top of another player’s wink. The covered wink can’t be
moved by its owner until it is uncovered.
Englishman Joseph Fincher first patented Tiddlywinks in 1888. He
gave it the name “Tiddledy Winks,” one of many accepted variations for
the spelling of Tiddlywinks. The name fell into the public domain in
1890 as the game’s popularity was picking up steam, and this led to
many different manufacturers in both the U.S. and the U.K. tarting the
game up with various gimmicks. The most popular gimmick was creating a
“sports” version of Tiddlywinks. Soon enough, store shelves were filled
with tennis, football, horseshoes, bowling and baseball versions. To
accentuate the sports theme, the playing pieces were often reshaped to
resemble miniature tennis rackets, horseshoes, etc.
Tiddlywinks had become a popular parlor game for adults. Some
people even threw Tiddlywink parties, but the novelty soon began to
wear off and Tiddlywinks had lost its favor with the adult public by
the beginning of the 20th century. Its popularity was kept alive as a
game for children and certain pubgoers quietly kept the game alive for
mature players. In the mid-1950’s, Tiddlywinks began to regain its
popularity as an adult diversion at colleges like Oxford, Cambridge and
Harvard.
Today, Tiddlywinks leads a double life as a kid’s game on toy
shelves and an adult pastime that is played by Tiddlywinks Associations
around the world. There are even National and World Tiddlywink
Championships for the enterprising Tiddly-winker. Though its popularity
has ebbed and flowed over time, its challenges and durability ensure
that Tiddlywinks will always make a comeback.
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