Some of the most common indoor games I played a child were Labyrinth and Bagatelle (more commonly known as Pinball).
Labyrinth was the more prevalent, with plastic handheld versions available at stalls at wedding or function venues (or at Dasara exhibition). More common than the Labyrinth was the Maze. The Labyrinth requires you to take the marbles from one place to other without letting them fall through the holes, but the Maze was simpler, with no holes at all.
Bagatelle was the rarer one. Nobody I knew owned a bagatelle table, so when I found one at a neighbour’s place, I was intrigued about the game. But there is only so much time you can play at the neighbours. I kind of liked that game, and was hooked to the computer version which we now know as Pinball. However, while Pinball had two paddles which let you flick the marble, bagatelle lets you do a cue only once, before the marble settles on a score.
I guess we never outgrow childhood desires, because when I saw these for sale at the car boot sale, I instinctively picked them up without even the slightest inclination to bargain. (They came at a throwaway price anyway!). I played with them the afternoon I bought them, and then packed them up and put them away. Here they are!
This one to the right was a bonus, I don’t even know what it is called!!
These are just museum pieces now, because I know my son will not play with these. There’s not much scope when you have the same as iPhone apps. :-|
