Nebula: Version 4

The goal of this game is to roll your magnetic marbles so they end up inside a nebula (shown below). But to end up on the inside is trickier than you think!


Making a Nebula
To create a nebula, take a piece of string 8-10 feet long and tie together the two ends.

Arrange it in the center of your playing surface (e. g., carpet) so that it curves around but the string never crosses over itself. This is your nebula. You can make it have a different shape everytime you play!

Where is the inside?
Every time you move across a string, you move from being outside the nebula to being inside, or vice versa.


Following the picture above, when you go from left to right, you start on the outside of the nebula, then when you pass over the string you are inside the nebula. Pass over the string again and you are outside once gain. Explore the nebula to convince yourself that this is true.

It doesn't matter where you start on the outside of the nebula, it works the same way going from outside to inside to outside to inside and on and on.

So, you see, rolling a marble so it ends up inside the nebula is going to be tricky!

Rounds & Scoring
A round ends after all players have taken turns rolling their 10 marbles toward the target. At the end of the round, you get a point for each marble of yours that is inside the nebula.

Rules

1. Each player picks a color and gathers all 10 marbles of that color. (Five people can play.)

2. Everyone must agree on a distance to roll from: 2 feet, 3 feet, or farther. On your turn, roll one marble of your color toward the nebula from this distance. You can move around the nebula before you roll your marble, but make sure to roll from the distance that everyone agreed upon.

3. After all players have rolled their 10 marbles, the round is complete. Each player counts up their points. You get a point for each marble of yours that is inside the nebula.

First Example: The green marble below is awarded a point because it is inside the nebula. The yellow marble does not earn a point because it is outside the nebula.


Second Example: Both the blue and the yellow marbles below are definitely outside. The white marble is definitely inside. The green one is most likely inside. See the rule below for being inside.


7. What if a marble is on the line? If more than half the marble is inside the line, then consider the marble to be inside. Still, there will be cases where players will disagree. All players vote. In case of a tie vote, consider the marble to be inside.

8. How long to play? Either decide beforehand to play a certain number or rounds and you win if you have the most points after those rounds are completed. Or, decide beforehand to play until a player reaches a certain number of points, say 35. Decide beforehand what that number of points should be.