What you need to play conkers
Key conker equipment
Conkers is a game where having the right equipment is important if you’re going to win. So I guess the question is: what’s the best equipment and tools required for playing conkers? The quick answer is these 5 things:
A conker: either fresh off the tree or aged (saved from the year before).
String: there’s lots of different conker string options, from your mate’s shoe lace to leather lace.
Conker drill / holling device: you’ve got to make a hole in your conker before you can string it
Conker Coin: use conker coins to collect points when you beat the oppo
Protective gear: conker battles can get quite intense; protective conker equipment like glasses and arm guards can be helpful
Conkers
Choosing the right conker is important to winning. The key question is: what’s better / strongest a big conker or small conker? As a general rule the bigger the conker, the stronger it is. The reason for this is to do with the impact making a hole in the nut has an impact on the overall strength of the conker.
Conker String
Choosing the right string for your conker is important - whether you choose a string for style (leather), performance (bungee cord) or thrift (your mate’s shoe lace). There are numerous different options of string you can choose for your conker:
Shoelace: the cheapest and traditional option for the beginner
Garden twine: garden twine is readily available, however it can tend to break fairly easily (making you susceptible to stampsies)
Kitchen string: kitchen string is similar to garden twine, and again is susceptible to breaking fairly easily
Leather lace: leather lace is for the more stylish player.
Bungee Cord: bungee cord is for the pro-player, as the elasticity gives the conker extra power and whip
Kevlar Cord: the strongest option for players - guaranteed not to break
The best string for conkers?
So given the huge number of different string options, what’s the best string for playing conkers with? We think the best string for conkers is the shoe lace, as shoe laces are strong, widely available and also importantly have a plastic tipped end which make them easy to thread through the narrow hole of a conker.
Conker Drill
Holing your conker the right way is really important in preparing for a conker fight, as if you damage your conker whilst holing it you’re more likely to lose - and no one likes losing 😉
Our tip on what best to use for holing a conker is a ‘hand drill’, which will enable you to easily bore a hole in your conker without damaging it. Key reasons why a hand drill is the best tool for making a hole in your conker is the fact that by using a drill your drilling rather than puncturing the conker, meaning that you have more control and won’t split the skin of the nut so much.
The worst ways to holing a conker is to use a screw driver or hammer and nail, which will more likely damage the conker and even worst - your hand!
Conker Drill
Conker Coin
Using Conker coins are ways of scoring points in conkers. Attach a Conker Coin to your conker string and compete against your competitor for their Coins. Beat your opponent and acquire their coins. The better you are / the more conker games you win, the more conker coins you’ll acquire.
Protective equipment for conkers
The two main areas you need to consider protective conker equipment for is: arm protection and eye protection. Arm protection is important in the game of conkers as you’ll find that you’ll get a ‘whip’ from the conker when you play - and often this will lead to bruising your arm.
