Murbles was created by Murray Kramer, who kindly provided me with a 4 Player Activity Set of Murbles (Murray's Marbles) to test and review. This set retails at $59.95 and can be purchased from the website at
murblegame.com .
"What are Murbles?", you ask? It is a very fun outdoor game that can be played and enjoyed by every member of your family, regardless of their age or level of physical fitness. This game is perfect for little kids, tweens, teens, adults and even grandparents! EVERYONE can play!
There is nothing to set up, all you need are the Murble balls, so it is very easy to take along on camping trips, family reunions, to parties...anywhere you will have a group of people to play. They even come in a convenient carry bag, so just grab it and go!
Each Murble is 3" in diameter. They are solid, high density plastic balls that weigh ½ pound each.
Murbles are made in the USA and are available in 20 popular colors. When you order, you get to choose the colors you want for your Murbles, and even the color of the carry bag! There are larger sets available to accommodate more players, or you can add additional sets to increase the number of players.
You can view the rules of the game
HERE, but basically there are 2 Murbles of each color except white target ball, of which there is only one. Each player chooses a different color and one player, the challenger, also gets the white ball. All players stand in a line, side by side. The person with the target ball throws it forward, with an underhanded throw. Once the target ball is thrown, the players cannot move from their positions in the line. When the target ball stops rolling, the players take turns trying to get their balls as close to the target ball as they can. The player who threw the target ball must go last. All must use underhanded throws. This is called a "ROUND". The person who gets their ball closest to the target ball, receives 1 point for each ball he has closer than any other color. Only one player receives points during a round. At the end of each round, the players collect their balls and then return to their same position in line and a new round begins. The player who received the point in the round becomes the one who throws the target ball (from his position) for the new round.
A round is 1 to 2 points; a set is when the first player reaches 10 points. A game is best 2 out of 3 sets.
The fun thing about this game is that so many things can affect the outcome of the round. Tree roots, stones, dips in the terrain, etc. can send a ball off course. A player can hit someone else's ball with theirs and cause it to roll either closer or further away from the target ball. Even the target ball can be moved by being hit by a player's ball. Only the position of the balls at the END of a round matters. And you can easily modify the rules a little to suit the amount of players you have. There are 5 of us in my family and we have a 4 player set, so we turned it into a 5 player game by making the person who throws the target ball be the 5th player. At the end of each round, the one who gets the point becomes the target ball thrower and the previous thrower takes over that person's Murbles. It worked for us!
My family absolutely loves this game. We play it as a family and really enjoy it. I have one son and two daughters, aged 5, 9, and 11; and this is something we can all enjoy together! I highly recommend it! Even the name is fun to say...MURBLES!
