Wrists were being flexed and knuckles cracked today for the start of the annual British and World Marbles Championships.
The game was being played at its spiritual home, The Greyhound Inn, in Tinsley Green, near Crawley.
The village is considered by aficionados to be the Wembley of the sport, and reputed to be the scene of an epic marbles battle between two men in Elizabethan times for the hand of a local maiden.
Up to 150 people are expected to compete in this year's tournament, including two German sides and a team which has participated every year for the last 50 years.
Julia McCarthy-Fox, of the BMBC, said: "We pride ourselves that the tournament is about tradition not competition."
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