A Bilboquet Game from France


How to play the game

French Bilboquet

This Bilboquet is a ring and pin game. Although there is a "pin" - a heavy ball serves as a substitute for a "ring". While holding the pin in one hand, a player may swing the tethered ball into the air and put the pin in the hole in the flattened bottom of the ball as the ball falls.

As an alternative, a player may throw the ball in the air with one hand, and hold the pin in the other hand. The weight of the ball makes both tasks easier said than done!

About The Equipment

This Bilboquet was donated to the Museum in 1976. The game is machine made of hardwood and painted red. The pin is 18.5cm long x 2.1cm diameter, and tapers at one end into a point. The base of the pin appears to be damaged, suggesting that before the game was donated to the Museum, the pin might have been longer. A tethered solid wooden ball is 6.6cm high x 8.4cm diameter. The ball is flattened on the bottom with a hole in the center. The string tether is tied to the center of the pin and is attached to the top of the ball.


Last update February 26, 2010