Editing Conkers (section)

==Game==
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[[File:Stringing conkers.jpg|thumb|Tools used to string a conker]]
Before the game, each player must prepare a conker. A hole is bored in a large, hard conker using a nail, [[Gimlet (tool)|gimlet]], small screwdriver, or electric drill. A piece of string (often a [[shoelace]] is used), about {{convert|20|cm}} long, is threaded through it.  A large knot at one or both ends of the string secures the conker.

===Play===
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The game is played between two people, each with a conker. They take turns hitting each other's conker using their own. One player lets the conker dangle on the full length of the string and the other player swings their conker to hit it.

A point is scored for a conker surviving a hit that causes the other one to break. The point is scored irrespective of whether the surviving conker was attacking or defending at the time.

The scoring of the game is considered to be a property of the conkers themselves. A new conker is a ''none-er'', meaning that it has not defeated any others yet and thus has no score. As a conker accumulates points, its designation changes to reflect the total: a ''none-er'' becomes a ''one-er'', then a ''two-er'', and so on. (In some areas of Scotland, conker victories are counted using the terms ''bully-one'', ''bully-two'', etc.  In some areas of the United States and Canada, conker victories are counted using the terms ''one-kinger'', ''two-kinger'', etc. In 1940s [[Brooklyn, New York]], a winning chestnut was referred to as a ''killer'' and the value of a chestnut was defined by its number of "kills".)

In some regions, the winning conker receives all the points accumulated by the losing one, in addition to gaining one more point for the defeat. For example, a ''two-er'' that defeats a ''three-er'' would become a ''six-er'' (2 + 3 + 1). Other regions only award one point to the winner, regardless of the loser's score.

===Variant rules===
* If the strings become entangled, the first player to shout "strings" or "stringsies" has an extra turn.
* If one player drops their conker, the other can shout "stamps" or "stampsies" entitling them to try and break the conker on the ground by stamping on it. Shouting "no stamps" before the other player can shout "stamps" prevents any stamping.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.worldconkerchampionships.com/html/conkers_about.html |title=All About Conkers |website=worldconkerchampionships.com |publisher=Ashton Conker Club |access-date=25 October 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161025235221/http://www.worldconkerchampionships.com/html/conkers_about.html |archive-date=25 October 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.thefreelibrary.com/CONKERS+CHAMPIONSHIPS%3A+Still+bonkers+about+conkers.-a0122352575 |title=CONKERS CHAMPIONSHIPS: Still bonkers about conkers |last1=McGrinder |first1=Jack |date=2004 |website=thefreelibrary.com |publisher=Scottish Daily Record |access-date=25 October 2016 }}</ref>

===Hardening conkers===
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The hardest conkers usually win. Hardening conkers is often done by keeping them for a year (aged conkers are called ''laggies'' in many areas or ''seasoners'' in Ireland and Liverpool), baking them briefly, soaking or boiling in vinegar, or painting with clear nail varnish.  Such hardening is, however, usually regarded as cheating.

At the British Junior Conkers Championships on the [[Isle of Wight]] in October 2005, contestants were banned from bringing their own conkers out of fears that they might harden them. The [[Keith Flett|Campaign for Real Conkers]] claimed this was an example of over-regulation which was causing a drop in interest in the game. In both the World Conker Championship and the North American Championship, contestants are also restricted to using the conkers provided by the organisers.

One factor affecting the strength of a conker is the shape of the hole.  A clean cylindrical hole is stronger, as it has no notches or chips that can begin a crack or split.

The Peckham Conker Championships allow artificially hardened conkers, with some players even coating their conkers in [[epoxy resin]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.huckmag.com/article/conkers-unlikely-contact-sport-london-peckham-championship |title=Conkers: The unlikely contact sport taking London by storm |last=Elliot |first=Lydia |date=Oct 19, 2023 |website=Hugmag |access-date=July 15, 2024}}</ref> This competition follows Battle Royale rules and also allows stampsies and stringies.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://peckhamconker.club/rules |title=Battle Royale conker rules |website=Peckham Concker Club |access-date=July 15, 2024}}</ref>

===Similar game===
[[File:Hymenaea courbaril - seeds.jpg|thumb|''Hymenaea courbaril'' seeds are used to play a similar game in Puerto Rico.]]
A similar [[Puerto Rico|Puerto Rican]] game (played with the smaller seed of the jatobá, ''[[Hymenaea courbaril]]'') is called ''gallitos'' (meaning small roosters or cocks, as in [[cockfighting]]). The opponents face each other and the defending gallito is laid in the center of a circle drawn in the dirt. Not until the attacking player misses will the defending player take a turn. Upon missing, if the attacking player is quick enough, they will try to swing at the defending gallito before the defendant removes it from within the circle. If the defending gallito is struck it must remain in the circle until the attacker misses again. This move is called a "''paso de paloma''".<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20101008013901/http%3A//maderaspr.uprm.edu/algarrobo2.pdf|title=Monograph on ''Hymenaea courbaril'' |language=es |page=1}}</ref>