How to score in the game of conkers
The way points are scored in the game of conkers is fairly simple. Scoring in the game of conkers works according to two key principles:
Each game is worth one point
The winner of the game adds the total value of their opponents conker to their conker value - as well as the extra point
As a way of marking your score, and exchanging points, players can use ‘Conker Coins’ - collecting coins and hanging them on your string (along with your conker) to show how many points your conker is worth.
How Conker scoring works
An example of how a conker score works and how you gain points in the game of conkers is as follows:
Player A has a conker worth 2 points (e.g. they’d played one previous game, and won 2 points)
Player B has a conker worth 15 point (e.g. they’d played numerous previous games and won 15 points from the various other conkers they’d beaten)
The score of this game would be:
(The value of Player A + Player B) + (1 extra point for winning this specific game) i.e. 2 + 15 + 1 = 18
So in this game there’s a total of 18 points up for grabs (which is a lot!)
The traditional conker score nomenclature
The classic way of talking about the value of your conker is by adding ‘er’ on the end of the numerical value of your conker e.g. a ‘one-er’ or a ‘six-er’ or a ‘nine-er’.
So for example, you’d say ‘mine’s a six-er, what’s yours?’
How to track the score / value of your conker
Historically people have tracked the value of their conker - i.e. how many points your conker has won - via ‘trust’ i.e. you’d have to trust your opponent as to what the value of their conker is whether they said it was a ‘one-er’ or a ‘twenty-er’. In reality people often forget how many points their conker is worth, and the value exchange between players is lost over time.
The Peckham Conker Club has introduced the concept of ‘Conker Coins’ as a way of giving a definitive, physical and exchangeable points system.
Conker Coins also give a real ‘value’ to a game of conkers, and adds a layer of jeopardy and meaning to a game of conkers - and a reason for someone to want to win and a real feeling of loss when they lose - as a player would really be losing something of value when they lose a game of conkers.
‘Conker Coins’
Using Conker Coins is the best way to track your conker’s value - and exchange points in games between players. Conker Coins exist as small rings which can be attached to the string of your conker.
Conker coins exist in 3 different values: 1, 5, 10 and 20. Only 1’s, can be directly bought. You can only access 5’s, 10’s and 20’s via an ‘exchange’.
Physical conker coins
As conkers is a physical game, conker games are made more fun when tokens are played for. The idea being that the winner is given tokens corresponding to the value of their conker’s points.
A player has the right to retire their conker at any point - and then exchange their coins for limited edition collector tokens i.e. 5’s 10’s and 20’s.
N.B. each conker coin is unique, carrying a unique serial number and markings. Tokens are country-specific, each carrying their flag of provenance.
Current country-specific flags are:
UK
Scotland
Wales
Ireland
USA
Canada
Australia
Luxembourg
Spain
France
Conker Coins for marking points in a game of conkers
Digital conker coins
At present conker coins only exist as physical coins, however we’re working on the idea of creating a crypto conker coin using the Ethereum blockchain - so you could put the value of your conker on the blockchain.
