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Street marbles in 3D

Play marbles. Follow the Kingfisher

Collect the most marbles to win your first match. Pull back and let go to shoot. Keep each marble you knock out of the chalk ring and shoot again until the ring is empty.

Your grandmother left you a marble called the Kingfisher. Wiktor wins it in your first match. Follow its trail through 13 chapters and 12 places, learning local rules as you try to get it back.

Play in your browser Watch chapter one 0:38

Read the story

The story

Your grandmother's marble

Your grandmother's Kingfisher looks like an onionskin, a German glass marble with coloured swirls. It's made of stone: blue-grey agate with one orange stripe of reddish carnelian. It was shaped on a grinding wheel in Khambhat, Gujarat, India, in the 1890s.

The Kingfisher is heavier than glass and isn't perfectly round. It curves to the same side when you shoot. Learn the curve and adjust your aim. Try it in the yard above.

In chapter one, you play sixteen-year-old Wiktor in the harbour yard at dawn. You put the Kingfisher into the match as a marble he can win. Your shooter stops inside the ring without knocking anything out. A rule you haven't learned lets Wiktor hit it to win one of the marbles you put in. He wins the Kingfisher. Your shooter stays yours.

That night, Tef brings you a photo of an old receipt with eleven cities written on the back. She's a retired ship's cook who knew your grandmother. Her friends in the ports help you follow the Kingfisher's trail.

Chapters 2 to 12

Eleven stops on the Kingfisher's trail

The receipt lists a marble dealer's buying route. A courier follows it, buys marbles cheaply and ships them on. The Kingfisher travels by air. Tef arranges your travel, but you keep arriving one stop behind it. The story starts in your home harbour and may bring you back there.

Play the people you meet to find the next clue. In Cairo, aim at other players' shooters on a rooftop. In Hội An, shoot into holes in a courtyard. Each stop below shows its match rules and a postcard sent afterwards, sometimes by someone other than your opponent.

Lagos, Nigeria
Chapter 2Call your targetPlay at: SchoolyardMeet Tunde
Match: The Ring. Knock target marbles out of a chalk ring. When it is empty, the player who won the most marbles wins.
The Scar. Slow marbles get stuck in the groove called the Scar. Name the marble you aim at before shooting. Hit it for double points; miss and your turn ends.
You lifted your knuckle just before shooting eleven times. I counted. Keep it on the ground and say which marble you're aiming at. A few more days of practice and the yard will stop laughing. The man you're looking for buys marbles at the school gate and pays cash. Try the bar by the taxi rank
Tunde, Lagos
Marseille, France
Chapter 3Steady your aimPlay at: PlazaMeet Émilie
Match: The Ring. Knock target marbles out of a chalk ring. When it is empty, the player who won the most marbles wins.
Fire shot. The gaps between the cobbles can guide your shot. You get one double-power shot per game. If that shot stops in the ring without knocking a marble out, you lose two marbles.
My brother says to follow the gaps in the cobbles. He hasn't played for years, but he's right. You finished our match without a foul. Hardly anyone manages that here. Next time you win a marble you don't need, give it back. You don't have to make a speech
Émilie, Marseille
Oaxaca, Mexico
Chapter 4Beat the clockPlay at: Market laneMeet Nena
Match: The Ring. Knock target marbles out of a chalk ring. When it is empty, the player who won the most marbles wins.
Uphill shots. The lane slopes towards the drain. Knock a marble out on the uphill side for double points.
The market won't quiet down for us, so play between customers. Start higher up the slope and let the marble roll down. Hitting harder won't help. Mamá says the crate went to Veracruz on the ninth. She says you eat too fast, too, and I agree
Nena, Oaxaca
Cairo, Egypt
Chapter 5Stay on the roofPlay at: RooftopMeet Yara
Match: The Chase. Aim at another player's shooter on open ground. Win with three hits, or by being the last player whose shooter stays on the roof.
Off the edge. You can throw your marble through the air. Marbles that go over the low wall are lost.
I lost two marbles over that wall when I was nine. Now I check where a miss might land before I shoot. You're throwing too close to the edge. Learn the wall first. The pigeon keeper wrote the shipment number on his hand. I copied it before it washed off
Yara, Cairo
Hội An, Vietnam
Chapter 6Use the wallsPlay at: CourtyardMeet Hải
Match: The Hole. Shoot into holes 1, 2 and 3, then back through 3, 2 and 1. After that, hit another player's shooting marble twice to win.
Wall play. You can bounce a shot off any of the three walls to reach a hole.
The tiles are wet until about six and dry by ten. Bounce your shots off the wall behind the frangipani. The other two walls lean. Try putting some spin on your shots. And yes, I'm still asking for more marbles to play. I have something to buy before a deadline, but I'm keeping that to myself. Come back when it rains
Hải, Hội An
Osaka, Japan
Chapter 7Stop after onePlay at: Shrine precinct (shrine grounds)Meet Sae
Match: The Ring. Knock target marbles out of a chalk ring. When it is empty, the player who won the most marbles wins.
Off the slab. Keep your marble on the stone. If it rolls into the gravel, you get it back but lose the round.
Your photograph arrived. I hope the return postage wasn't too much. We've made glass marbles called onionskins here for a hundred years, and yours looked familiar at first. But it's stone. Take it to someone who works with agate. They'll know more than I do
A glassblower in Lauscha, replying to your photo
Lahore, Pakistan
Chapter 8A familiar gripPlay at: Gali (a lane)Meet Wiktor
Match: The Ring. Knock target marbles out of a chalk ring. When it is empty, the player who won the most marbles wins.
Drain stakes. Marbles that fall into the open drain, called the nālī, are lost.
My grandmother shoots like you. Most of us do, though you seemed surprised. We call the marbles kanche. I saw you lose everything on Tuesday. I'm glad you came back to watch on Wednesday. You can sit with us again
A kid from the lane, Lahore
Whanganui, Aotearoa New Zealand
Chapter 9Aim for the pathPlay at: BackyardMeet Manaia, Sione and Rewa
Match: The Ring. Knock target marbles out of a chalk ring. When it is empty, the player who won the most marbles wins.
The crossing. Knock a marble onto the concrete path to win it, even if it stays inside the ring.
Dad says you spent the whole first game aiming straight at the marbles. Aim where the lawn meets the path instead. That's where you want to send them. We call ours Kōtare, after the bird. Sione says you owe him a fizzy drink. Rewa says he's lying
Manaia, Whanganui
Wildwood, New Jersey, USA
Chapter 10Knuckle downPlay at: Ringer StadiumMeet Ruby
Match: Ringer. Knock target marbles out of a ring while a referee watches. First to seven points wins.
Refereed. Thirteen marbles form an X in a ten-foot ring. Knock out seven to win. Keep a knuckle on the ground while shooting. Everyone gets their marbles back after the match.
Play chapter 10 in the game to read this postcard.
Tinsley Green, England
Chapter 11Play as a teamPlay at: The Greyhound (a pub)Meet Dolly
Match: Tinsley Green. Teams knock target marbles off a raised sand playing area. The first team to knock off 25 marbles wins.
The rink. Teams of six play with 49 target marbles and a larger shooting marble called a tolley. First team to score 25 wins. Wet sand slows every shot.
Play chapter 11 in the game to read this postcard.
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Chapter 12Face the collectorPlay at: Canal squareMeet Renske
Match: The Ring. Knock target marbles out of a chalk ring. When it is empty, the player who won the most marbles wins.
Stop within three seconds. The middle of the square is 3 cm higher, so marbles roll towards the edges. If the marble you shoot rolls for more than 3 seconds, the shot is a foul.
Play chapter 12 in the game to read this postcard.

Chapter films

Watch the story

The chapter films are short animations that look like paper cut-outs. Each runs about 40 seconds, with handwritten captions and its own music. Eight films are ready. The others are being made.

Still from the chapter 1 film. The kid and Wiktor crouch on either side of a chalk ring of marbles in the harbour yard at dawn, with shipping containers behind them. Caption: "Wiktor drew a ring. You both put marbles in it"

Chapter 1 · Harbour yard, Home port

Your first match

With Wiktor

Aim for the pathFilm being made
Knuckle downFilm being made
Play as a teamFilm being made
Face the collectorFilm being made
Back into playFilm being made

Five grips

Learn five ways to shoot

A grip is how your character holds and releases a marble. The controls stay the same: pull back and let go. Each grip changes the shot's starting height, aim steadiness and power. Start with your grandmother's rest-and-flick, then learn other grips from the people you meet.

Compare each grip with rest-and-flick: ×1.00 aim movement and 100% power. Less aim movement means a steadier shot. More power means a harder shot.

Rest-and-flick

South Asia; learned from your grandmother

Rest the marble on your left index finger. Pull your right index finger back behind it, then release to flick.

Release height: 1 cm
Aim movement: ×1.00
Shot power: 100%
Position: Squatting
Learned from: Your grandmother

Knuckle-down

US ringer, Tinsley Green, Lagos, Marseille

Keep a knuckle on the ground. Rest the marble against your bent index finger and flick it with your thumb.

Release height: 0.6 cm
Aim movement: ×0.85
Shot power: 115%
Position: Squatting
Learned from: Tunde, in chapter 2

Crouch flick

Oaxaca, Hội An

Crouch at the shooting line. Pull your index finger against your middle finger, then release it to flick the marble.

Release height: 0.8 cm
Aim movement: ×1.10
Shot power: 105%
Position: Squatting
Learned from: Nena, in chapter 4

Standing lob

Cairo, and opening shots at every arena

Stand and throw or drop the marble from your fingertips.

Release height: 90 cm
Aim movement: ×1.60
Shot power: 70%
Position: Standing
Learned from: Yara, in chapter 5

Palm roll

Whanganui, wet grass, opening shots at every arena

Hold the marble in an open palm and roll it underarm along the ground.

Release height: 2 cm
Aim movement: ×0.70
Shot power: 60%
Position: Squatting or standing
Learned from: Manaia, in chapter 9

Glossary

Marble names around the world

Kanche means marbles in North India. Pick a word below to see where it's used, what it means and how to say it, when we know. These are marble names from the game's glossary. A † marks a word we haven't yet confirmed with a second source.

English-speaking world
The ball itself, and the name of the game played with it.
United States
Say it rhymes with rib
A target marble placed in the ring.
United States
Say it MIB-ster
A marbles player.
United Kingdom
Say it rhymes with saw
The marble you shoot with, and the scratched line you shoot it from.
Tinsley Green, England
Say it TOL-ee
The larger shooter used on the rink at Tinsley Green, fired off the thumbnail.
New Zealand and Australia (unconfirmed)
Say it AL-eez
Marbles in New Zealand and Australia, said to be named after alabaster.
Netherlands
Say it KNIK-kers, both letters sounded
Marbles in the Netherlands.
France
Say it BEE-y
Marbles in France.
Italy
Say it BEE-lyeh
Marbles in Italy.
Poland
Say it KOOL-kee
Marbles in Poland.
Germany
Say it MOOR-meln
Marbles in Germany.
Spain and Mexico
Say it ka-NEE-kas
Marbles in Spain and Mexico.
Argentina and Chile
Say it bo-LEE-tas
Marbles in Argentina and Chile.
Venezuela
Say it MEH-tras
Marbles in Venezuela.
Brazil
Say it bo-LEEN-yas de GOO-de
Marbles in Brazil. Tef keeps hers in a tobacco tin.
Haiti
Say it wotch
Stone in Haitian Creole, and the word for a marble in Haiti.
North India
Say it KUN-cheh
Marbles in North India. Kanche takes its name from this word.
Pakistan and North India
Say it KUN-cha
One marble, the singular of kanche. Used in the Lahore lane.
South India and Sri Lanka
Say it GOH-lee
Marbles in South India and Sri Lanka.
South India and Sri Lanka
Say it GOH-lee GOON-doo
A longer form of goli, used for marbles in South India and Sri Lanka.
Gujarat, India
Say it la-KHO-tee
Marbles in Gujarat, the state where the Kingfisher was ground.
Vietnam
Say it bee
Marbles in Vietnam.
Vietnam
Say it bee veh
A glass marble in Vietnam. The term describes the marble, not the game.
Japan
Say it BEE-da-ma
Marbles in Japan. The name comes from B-dama, balls rejected for use as Ramune bottle stoppers.
Indonesia
Say it ke-le-RENG
Marbles in Indonesia.
Philippines
Say it HO-len
Marbles in the Philippines.
Philippines
Another spelling of holen, meaning marbles.

Pick a word to see its meaning

About the game

How Kanche works

You can't buy marbles

Win marbles by playing. You can lose them or give them back, but you can't buy them. There are no random prizes. Marbles have no money value, as explained in the terms.
You always keep your shooter

The marble you shoot with stays yours under every rule set. You can only lose other marbles you put into the match.
Keep your marbles in friendly matches

In a friendly, everyone keeps their own marbles. You still earn full skill progress and move the story forward, but you don't collect your opponent's marbles.
Play with one thumb

Pull back and release to shoot. You don't need two hands, double taps or perfect timing. Set spin with the gauge before you pull; dragging doesn't change it.
Recognise marbles by shape and pattern

Each marble has a distinct pattern and outline. You can tell them apart without relying on colour.
Parents can lock friendly play

Turn on Funsies only to make every match a friendly. No marbles change hands. Parents can lock this setting with a code.
Built for budget phones

Kanche also runs on an Android TV box with 1 GB of memory. Use the TV remote to play.
Play in five languages

Choose English, Urdu (اردو), Pashto (پښتو), Hindi (हिन्दी) or Arabic (العربية). Urdu, Pashto and Arabic read right to left.
Progress saves on your device

You can play without signing in. Your progress saves in your browser or on your phone. There are no ads. Read the privacy policy for details.

Kanche

Play Kanche in your browser

Start playing without signing in or installing anything. Follow the story to unlock new places and grips, or play a quick match.

Share one device with two to four people in pass and play. Try the daily challenge, with the same new ring for everyone each day, or practise your aim without an opponent.

Play in your browser

Android and iOS apps are in development

Use a recent version of Chrome, Edge or Safari. Chrome or Edge with WebGPU, a browser feature for 3D graphics, gives the best performance.