- This page is about the fruit of the Horse-chestnut tree; Conker is also the name of a character from the Rareware video game universe (see Conker's Bad Fur Day).
Conker is the name used in Britain, Ireland and some former British colonies for the nuts of the Horse-chestnut tree Aesculus hippocastanum, when used in a game traditionally played by children, Conkers. The name comes from the nineteenth-century dialectal word conker meaning snail-shell, as the game was originally played using snail shells. Conkers are also known regionally as "obblyonkers" or "cheggies".
They are poisonous if eaten, containing the alkaloid saponin, though deer and some other mammals are immune and can eat them.
Rules of the game
- Take a large, hard conker and drill a hole through it using a gimlet. Thread a piece of string through it about 25cm long. Often a shoelace is used.
- Find an opponent. It is to your advantage if you can find an opponent with a conker smaller and softer than yours.
- Take it in turns to hit each other's conker using your own. To hit, hold the string in one hand with the conker held above it in the other hand, then swipe at the opponent's conker, letting go of your own nut but keeping hold of the string.
- If you manage to smash your opponent's conker, your conker is now a one-er (two-er etc). If your opponent's conker was a one-er, your conker is now a two-er.
Variation A variation of rule 3 is as follows: A player is allowed to keep taking shots at the opponent's conker until they miss. When the player misses, the roles swap. If a player just slices the opponent's conker (ie. does not get a clean hit, often because wind causes the opponent's conker to sway), then both players quickly shout "tips" and the one who in the opinion of onlookers shouted it first, gets to take shots.
History of Conkers The first recorded game of Conkers using horse chestnuts was on the Isle of Wight in 1848. Until then, children used snail shells or hazelnuts.
In 1965 the World Conker Championships were set up in Ashton (near Oundle) Northamptonshire, England, and still take place on the second Sunday of October every year. In 2004, an audience of 5,000 turned up to watch more than 500 competitors from all over the world slug it out.
In 1999, the British charity ActionAid applied for a patent on hardening conkers, in protest at the patenting of life forms by large companies.
In 2000 a survey of British schools showed that many were not allowing children to play Conkers as headteachers were afraid of the legal consequences if children were injured while playing the game. In 2004 a headmaster was reported to be outfitting pupils with goggles to play the game.
Since 2002, conkers have been threatened by the leaf-mining moth Cameraria ohridella, whose larvae feed on horse chestnut leaves. The moth had been in Europe since 1985 but took 17 years to reach Britain
How to harden conkers To stand a good chance of winning, it is desirable to have as hard a conker as possible. The best way to achieve this is to leave your conker in a drawer for a year. If you lack time, a similar effect can be gained by briefly baking it in an oven. Some people also swear by soaking in vinegar.
External links - Conkers - A Favourite Children's Game (http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/customs/conkers.html)
- Fédération Francaise de Conkers (http://www.ffconkers.org/) in French and English
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