The game itself was originally called ‘conquers’ and used either shells or hazelnuts but within a hundred years of the Horse Chestnut tree being introduced to the UK, the smooth, brown, glorious nuts within became the standard choice of ‘weapon’ for a would be conker champion.

Image via Wikipedia

When choosing your conker here are some things to keep in mind.

• It is best to collect your conkers after they have already dropped to the ground (between September and October). With luck, the fall will have broken the outer husk and the brown nut will already be exposed.
• The ideal size for your conker is 30-35mm in diameter, it should be big, round, rich brown and glossy (apart from the dull ‘eye’ at the top where it was joined to the husk).
• The denser the conker, the better it will be for battling purposes. Drop the ones you have collected into a bucket of water, those that float get rid of them; the ones that sink will be the ones that are more dense and more fit for purpose.
• Drill a hole through the centre of the ‘eye’ of the conker, the hole should be big enough to thread a piece of string through.
• The best type of ’string’ to use is a shoelace (better to make it from an old pair of shoes, don’t want you tripping over yourself). It should be long enough to go round your clenched fist with 25cm still to spare.
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  Once you have the string threaded through the conker, tie a knot (or two) to secure it. Now you are ready to play conkers.

Rules of the game.

The game is played between two players who each are armed with a conker. The aim of the game is to be the first to smash the opponents conker.

• The player that is being targeted first must ‘dangle’ their conker at arms length at a height chosen by the other. It must be held straight and perfectly still.
• The ’striker’ has three attempts to smash his opponents conker before the turns are reversed.

• The game continues until one of the players conkers is smashed.

Image via Wikipedia

Cheating is not an option.

Or is it? Although cheating should never be encouraged there are a few things you can do to help your conkers chances of winning.

Leaving a conker in an airing cupboard for a whole year (with the hole already drilled into it) will help harden it up and strengthen it. A conker is predominantly carbohydrate but by drying it out can reduce th water content (3%). Be warned though, conkers that have been in an airing cupboard for a year are not allowed to be used in the World Championship Conkers competition, held in Northamptonshire annually.

If you can’t wait a whole year to strengthen your conker there is a quicker way to get similar results. Soaking the conker in vinegar over night and then baking it in a cool oven for an hour can have similar results to the one year drying out process.

As an aside; conkers are often used in animal fodder and have been medicinally used to treat ailments such as arthritis, neuralgia, haemorrhoids and other rectal complaints!