Conkers is a traditional playground game played in England during September and October. It involves using the seeds, called conkers, from horse chestnut trees. To play, each player strings a conker on a piece of string and takes turns hitting their opponent's conker, with the aim of breaking or cracking it. The game goes in turns until one conker is destroyed. Scoring involves calling out "one-ers", "four-ers", or "ten-ers" depending on how many conkers a player's conker has defeated. Soaking conkers in vinegar or baking them is considered cheating to make them harder.

1. Conkers, a traditional English
playground game

2. CONKERS
During the months of September
and October, a favourite
playground
game is conkers.
But...
What is a conker??

3. A conker is a seed of a
Horse chestnut tree
Aesculus Hippocastanum
● Species: Hippocastanaceae
● Type: Deciduous
● Height: Up to 80' (25m)
● Fruit: “conkers” or
● horse chestnuts (inedible
chestnuts)
●
●
●

4. Where do conkers come from?
The young shoots of the horse
chestnut are large sticky buds.
These open in May into large
leaves each with five to seven
fingers.
● The flowers are pink or white
and they bloom in May
Dozens of tiny flowers in
large spikes,
In the shape of a
pyramid

5. The green outer casing of the seed will turn
brown and crack open with the conkers inside

6. IN THE AUTUMN,
the spiky green fruits
appear
containing the shiny brown
"conkers".
FRUIT SEEDS OR
CONKERS

7. Conkers is also the name of a
game played between two people
at a time
● How to prepare
your conker for
playing.
● Choose a good conker, firm and
symmetrical.
● Make a hole through the middle
of your conker
● Thread a piece of string about
50 cm long through the hole
and tie a knot at the end.
●

8. How to play CONKERS
Each player has a conker hanging on
its string.
● Players take turns at hitting their
opponent's conker
● Let your conker hang down from the
string. Your opponent chooses the
height and waits your conker is
held perfectly still
● He's got three goes
● If the string tangles, the first player to ● But if the owner first shout
call “strings” gets an extra shot
“NO STAMPS” then the conker,
● If a player drops his/her conker, or it's hopefully, remains intact
knocked out of his hand the other
player can shout “STAMPS” and ● The game goes in turns until one
jump on it. of the two conkers is
completely destroyed.
●

9. SCORING
● ONE-ER is the winner conker
between two fresh conkers
● If the conker beats another three
one-ers, it becomes a FOUR-
ER
● If the same conker beats a FIVE-
ER conker, our seed would
become a TEN-ER
●
● A GOOD CONKER CAN GO
FOR SEVERAL SEASONS
OR EVEN BE PASSED
FROM PARENTS TO SONS
AND DAUGHERS

10. How to make your conker harder
(considered cheating)
● Soak your conker in vinegar ● Use an old conker from previous
years
● Bake your conker in the oven for
25 minutes
When you find your first conker of the season
you should cast the spell 'ODDLYODDLY
ONKER MY FRIST CONKER'

11. Did you know?
● The United Kingdom is the only country in the world where
the game of conkers is traditionally played with horse
chestnuts in autumn
● Horse chestnut trees were first introduced in England in the
late 16th century from Eastern Europe
● Conkers are not edible for humans.
● Conkers are edible for deer, cattle and horses
● Extracts from horse chestnuts are used in medicine to treat
malaria, diarrhea, varicose veins and other diseases

12. Daniela Martínez Somoza
Cep Salustiano Rey Eiras
A Pobra do Caramiñal.
Curso 2011-2012
from the page
http://woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/customs/conkers.html
Videos to watch:
'Bonkers for Conkers'
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knLhVVeAX18
'How to win at conkers'
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cQ-eZOWgvI&feature=related
'the game of conkers'
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Lpuvblzpoo&feature=related
http://youtu.be/6Lpuvblzpoo