What did they do to the Tiddley Winks game?

[Ruth n Jersey]

I was checking out at a local department store and saw boxes of Tiddley Winks for sale. I hadn't seen them in years. I though just maybe my Grandsons would like to play a game that their Oma played as a kid. They were $5.00 a box. Ridiculous price I thought, but bought them anyway. The kids were excited as we opened the box. Out popped a paper cup,not even plastic, and a tiny bag of plastic winks. they were so thin you could see through them. The box doubled as a sort of bulls eye with a hole in the middle for the cup. I had to tape the box back together because it fell apart as we opened it. Now we were set to play. Those slippery, thin, player pieces wouldn't do anything but slide across the floor. Not once did I get one to flip up into the box or cup. I tried it on the tile,the wood floor, table top and even a tightly woven rug. Really disgusted. I have since noticed pick up sticks are plastic and Jacks aren't metal anymore. No wonder kids are hooked on video games, even I wouldn't want to play with that junk.

 

[Underock1]

Tiddley Winks is a long standing family tradition of ours going back generations. I just recently researched all of the sets available on the web. None of them have the essential ingredient, which is a felt cloth to shoot off of. We play with a felt cloth 29" x 29" on which is drawn a circle 22" in diameter. In the center is a glass cup about 2"x 2". In our game each player has 5 winks and shoots alternately from outside the circle. If the wink goes in they get to shoot again. The first player to get all in, wins. Winks that miss the cup stay where they land and must be shot from there unless they went outside the circle when they are returned to the shooter. If your wink gets covered by another players, you may still shoot it but must not touch the other players wink with your shooter. We play as adults with four players at a card table. Just had a Father's Day tournament with my son and Grandsons. Great fun. We also have basket ball and wrestling match games, but you need that felt cloth. Believe it or not there are international tournaments. You can see them on You Tube, but its a whole different game. Doesn't look near as much fun as ours. Let me know what set you bought. I'll check out the winks but you are right. The Tiddlys are not the same, but your problem is almost certainly the mat.

 

[ossian]

Apparently there is an organisation for Tiddlywinkers. Sadly the link to equipment suppliers is dead.

http://tiddlywinks.org/

I used to enjoy playing this as a child. I did not use a mat tho. I played on the carpet and that worked. I still find sets inside Christmas crackers.

 

[jujube]

Somebody probably got hit in the eye by a wink and sued the company. Thus, the winks are made to not flip up in the air so they'll be safer.....<sigh>. We have dumbed down so many things..........