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The children's game of Tiddlywinks (flicking counters into a pot) has a history stretching back over 100 years in various countries. The modern game of Tiddlywinks, as played in tournaments in the UK and the USA, was invented in Cambridge in 1955, and combines the physical dexterity of the children's game with tactics and strategy necessary for an adult pastime. Tiddlywinks is played indoors, with sets of small discs, known as winks placed on a flat surface, either a table or mat. There is one larger disc, known as a squidger that you use to press down a wink on one side, causing the wink to fly up in the air. The objective is to flick the wink so that it will land in a cup or pot. [1]



  1. 1
    Place your tiddlywinks mat on a smooth flat surface large enough to hold the 3 foot by 6 foot mat.[2] A large table is the best spot. You can play on the floor, but it's not recommended for reasons of ergonomics.
  2. Tiddlywinks2_418.jpg
    Assemble four players and have them choose pairs and colors. Alternatively, you can play with two players; each player will take two colors. Red and Blue always partner each other against Yellow and Green. Three players can likewise play two-against-one.
  3. 3
    Place the pot in the center of the mat, and the winks of the four colors in the four corners. It doesn't matter which color takes which corner as long as their clockwise order is blue, green, red, yellow. This corresponds to their alphabetical order.
  4. 4
    "Squidge off" to decide which player goes first. Each color plays one wink as close to the pot as they can. All winks that go off the mat are counted as equally far away, and all winks that go into the pot are equally near. In the event of a tie, only the colors that tied repeat the process. The color nearest the pot goes first.[3]
  5. 5
    Start a timer at the start of the game: 25 minutes is normal, or 20 minutes for a two-player game. Remember who plays first! They will also play last, which is another advantage.
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    Take turns, proceeding in a clockwise order. Each player gets one shot per turn, unless they pot a wink of their own color, in which case they get an extra shot. So it is possible to pot all 6 in one turn, but this can be a risky strategy.
  7. 7
    Capture enemy winks. Any wink which is underneath another wink, even by a tiny margin, cannot be played. It is said to be squopped. This rule is responsible for the tactical and strategic elements of the game.
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    Adopt a strategy. There are many possible game plans, but a standard strategy is to try to build an area of friendly winks close to the pot, and to squop as many enemy winks as possible. Trying to put winks in the pot too early may end in disaster as your remaining playable winks become captured and your opponents can work their winks into the pot at leisure[4].
  9. 9
    Keep your winks on the mat. If any winks go off the mat, they are replaced at the edge. If you send any winks of your own color off the mat, you lose your next turn.
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    Play 5 more rounds after time expires, each round ending with the color that won the squidge-off. During rounds, look to maximize your score by potting winks if possible.
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    Stop the timer (or abandon counting the rounds) if one color does pot all 6 winks. This is called a pot-out. Free any squopped winks, subject to all winks remaining at their same distance from the pot. The remaining players are then in a race to pot their winks (in turn, of course). Any squops which occur accidentally are likewise dismantled.
  12. 12
    Count the points. If the game ended without a pot-out, count the points for each color: any winks in the pot are worth 3 points each. Any unsquopped winks outside the pot are worth 1 point each. Any un-played winks still in the corner are not worth any points.
  13. 13
    Score the game as follows: the person with the most points scores 4. The second person scores 2, and the third person scores 1. In the event of a tie in points, the game scores are shared equally. For example, if Red gets 6 points, and Blue and Green each get 3 points, and Yellow 1 point, the game scores are Red 4, Blue and Green 1 1/2 each (they share the 2 and 1 positions), and Yellow 0. Partnerships add their scores to give the final game score, which in this case would be 5 1/2 - 1 1/2 (Red and Blue win).
  14. 14
    Score a pot-out game by assigning 4, 2, and 1 according to which color potted out first, second and third. As before, partnerships add their scores. Also, there is a point transferred from the losing team to the winning team. Hence it is possible to win 7-0 this way.

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  • Don't take it too seriously. Be magnanimous in victory and gracious in defeat. Above all else, Tiddlywinks is a fun social pastime.
  • In tournaments, game scores are usually aggregated, so individual wins and losses are not as important as the actual scorelines. So if you are losing, try to lose 3-4 rather than 1-6.
  • If you're in a close game, figure out which of your colors has the best chance for first place and try to make sure of that.
  • Practice potting from 3-4" and squopping from 1-2". Playing these shots solidly will win many games.
  • A full copy of the rules can be downloaded for free from the English or North American Tiddlywinks Associations. They will explain many more situations than there is room for here.
  • If you're putting on a tournament, be sure to check this exhaustive analysis of Tiddlywinks tournament constructions.
  • There are many Tiddlywinks terms, and some shots have colorful names like the Bristol, the Carnovsky, and even the John Lennon memorial shot. You can read definitions of some common Tiddlywinks terms in the FAQ on the ETwA site, or in the Lexicon on the NATwA site.


  • Tiddlywinks can be a choking hazard. Make sure to account for all your winks if you are playing in a household with small children.

Things You'll Need

  • A table or other hard surface suitable for playing on (rectangular and at least 6' x 3').
  • A set. This consists of 24 counters or "winks": 6 each of blue, green, red and yellow. Each color has 4 small winks and 2 large winks.
  • A pot. Usually red, it's a couple of inches high, round, and smaller at the base than at the rim.
  • A mat. The most expensive item you'll need, a tournament quality 6' x 3' mat is made of industrial superfelt, but in a pinch you can use any non-pile material that has a reasonable amount of springiness.
  • Squidgers. These are the discs used to play the winks (do not mistake large winks for squidgers). You can make your own from any thin plastic disc between 1 and 2 inches in diameter, and you can use different squidgers for different shots.
  • A timer. Any standard (preferably digital) countdown timer or watch with appropriate functionality will work.
  • Sets, pots, mats and squidger "blanks" are available from the English or North American Tiddlywinks Associations. Beware if getting your equipment from other sources: tournament quality mats, winks, and pots are made to high standards that you are unlikely to find in ordinary department-store "Tiddlywinks" games. Even so, the equipment is inexpensive - expect to pay around $60 or £40, the lion's share of which will be the mat.

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