A game for the generations

MANLIUS — Rolle Bolle is not a game everyone is familiar with, but it is a game that everyone can play and get familiar with. The bolding crew with the Manlius Rolle Bolle Club tries to get their members to start early and stay a lifetime as they have participants as young as 7 years old and veterans of the game well into their 80s.

“I was born into Rolle Bolle from my parents and grandparents. We have three generations of bollers here today with my dad, Lily (7 years old and first-year participant) and myself, and we also have Wyatt, who is 4 years old, and he follows us while we play and practices as much as he can,” Jessica Smith said.

Rolle Bolle is derived from a Belgian game called Belgian Bowling and is mixture of many games such as bocce ball, bowling, curling and horseshoes. The game is now generally played in rural areas in Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota and Canada.

To get started all that is needed are two stakes placed 30-feet apart, chalk to keep score, two teams of three players apiece and the most important piece of equipment, a bolle that weighs anywhere from 5-9 1/2 pounds and is a hard rubber, or molded plastic wheel that has a bevel, or uneven edge so it will not roll straight.

The object of the game is pretty simple: The team with the closest bolle to the stake at the opposite end of the court scores a point. That team can score additional points if he/she has a teammate who is also closer than the opponents’ bolle. Up to three points can be scored per team roll. This is repeated until a team scores eight points. Matches are played in games of three so best out of three games wins.

When shooting the bolle, a participant looks as if he will be rolling his/her bolle away from the stakes, or targets, but the uneven bevel on the bolle causes the bolle to turn towards the stake. In essence, every bolle will react differently depending on size, weight and the speed and angle in which a boller throws his/her bolle.

The other players leave their bolles on the court as each player takes his/her turn in order to make the next player’s roll more difficult. Many players attempt to roll around other bolles or a player can opt to shoot at and try to knock another player’s bolle out of the way, which often is more difficult than expected.

While the game is foreign to some who have not been around it, those who play and those who have witnessed the game know it has a universal appeal as a backyard game that brings families, friends and communities together.

“This is a summer family. It’s fun, cheap entertainment that everyone can play. It doesn’t matter how young or old you are or if you have a lot of experience or none. You can come out and play,” Kris DeBrock a 35-year-member of the club said. “When our daughter (16-year-old Allison) was a year old I carried her on my hip as I went back and forth, and as she got older she grew into the game and started played.”

The Manlius Rolle Bolle Club has upwards of 50 players but on any given night can expect about 30 members. On this particular July night, 29 members attended.

The next major rolle bolle event on the calendar is a mixed draw event known as the Little World Rolle Bolle championship on Friday, July 10, in Manlius.