Tiddlywinks
A strategic game of flicking winks into a pot.
Tiddlywinks is a competitive game played on a flat felt mat with small discs called winks, a pot, and squidgers. Players use a squidger to flick winks into the air, aiming to pot their own winks while squopping (covering) opponents' winks to prevent them from scoring.
- origin
- Victorian England
- patent applicant
- Joseph Assheton Fincher
- governing bodies
- English Tiddlywinks Association, North American Tiddlywinks Association, International Federation of Tiddlywinks Associations
- equipment
- winks, pot, squidgers, felt mat (6 ft × 3 ft)
Lore & Background
The game began as a Victorian parlour game. John Jaques and Son were the exclusive distributors. Competition was fierce, with other publishers issuing versions under names like Spoof, Flipperty Flop, and Jumpkins. It became a popular craze in the 1890s, played by adults and children. Throughout the first half of the twentieth century, public perception shifted toward viewing it as a simple children's game.
Reader's Guide
Tiddlywinks combines manual dexterity with strategic depth, often compared to snooker or golf for physical skill and chess for strategy. The key defensive tactic is squopping—covering an opponent's wink so it cannot be played. Players can also build, maintain, and break up piles of winks. The game ends when all winks of one colour are potted or after a time limit (usually 25 minutes) plus five extra turns per colour, with scoring based on potted and unsquopped winks. Modern competitive play uses standard equipment from the English Tiddlywinks Association, including moulded plastic pots and winks made from sliced extruded cylinders. Squidgers are custom-made, often from plastic, and top players may carry up to twenty. The game's unique blend of skill and strategy, along with the continuum of shot outcomes, prevents planning more than seven or eight moves ahead.
Did You Know?
- The word 'tiddlywinks' derives from British rhyming slang for an unlicensed public house.
- A wink that is covered (even partially) may not be played by its owner.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Tiddlywinks?
Tiddlywinks is a flick-based competitive game in which players use a flat tool called a squidger to pop small disc-shaped pieces (winks) into a central pot. It is played on a felt mat and blends offensive potting with defensive blocking of an opponent's pieces.
What equipment do you need to play Tiddlywinks?
A standard setup includes a set of small disc-shaped winks, a central pot, one or more squidgers, and a felt mat measuring roughly six feet by three feet. Competitive play uses higher-grade versions of each component compared to the simpler children's kit.
What is 'squopping' in Tiddlywinks?
Squopping is the tactical act of landing your own wink on top of an opponent's to block it from being potted. It is a core defensive move that makes the game a strategic contest rather than a simple potting exercise.
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