This Bilboquet is a ring and pin game. Like the French version in the Museum collection, 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!
This Bilboquet was purchased in 1973. The game is machine made of hardwood and painted yellow. The pin is 14.6cm long x 3.1cm diameter, and tapers at one end into a point. Unlike the flattened ball in the French version, this version has a tethered solid "round" wooden ball, 6cm in diameter, painted yellow.. The 44cm long string tether is tied to the center of the pin and is attached through one side of the ball. The catching hole is on the opposite side from where the string is attached.
Last update February 26, 2010