Grandchildren addicted to this very old toy!

I have one of these too, Witzend, and like you it stays in my house and is very popular with the grandchildren. The one I have belonged to my late mother in law and I remember my children playing with it too. I think my MIL bought it from a company called Past Times.

Thats wonderful. l dont think we as kids had one one those. It looks very old.

l wish l had kept some of my old toys but l did buy some very old 'Jack and Jill' annuals which was my favorite comic as a child, l think iv a few other old annuals dated from the 1950s. l bought them from a flea market about 10 yrs ago and they were very cheap as the seller had no idea what they were worth.
l 'll have older grandson go get them from the loft next time he's here from uni. He said he likes to go in my loft as 'its like a treasure trove of stuff' l call it the junk room lol.

How do you play with it and what is it called?

The photo is so dark it is difficult to see.

It looks like one that my grandparents had at there house. Theirs was old in the sixties. If it's the same I seem to remember you flick a marble round from the thin bit on the bottom right. The circles/horseshoes were made of small nails and you got different scores depending where the marble ended up. I think my grandad called it bagatelle.

Oh Witzend, we had one of those growing up. My dad made it, but I can't remember what happened to it. Shame.
Yes we knew it as Bagatelle.

Our old Bagatelle will still be in my mum's loft. It used to come out every Christmas throughout my childhood, my children's and presumably my Mum's too. The picture above has brought back some wonderful memories.

Unfortunately, none of the latest generation have ever seen it as, unsurprisingly, my mum comes to us for Christmas these days, but I bet they would love it!

I had one - a Bagatelle' board - great fun with silver marbles or perhaps heavy ball bearings, whizzing around the board. I remember the object was to get all the marbles into a small enclosure, consisting of thick nails forming a circle - or circles - around the board. I would love to get one for my GC - had forgotten all about this toy. I also had a 'Bayko' building set and could creat handsome 1930's style houses and bungalows with bays and green windows and doors. Did anyone else have a Bayko set?

www.ebay.co.uk/b/bn_2314520
I loved my bagatelle toy when I was young. I did a quick Google and found them on ebay. I think I might get one for the grandchildren.

What a lot of nonsense I have just written - the object was to avoid the enclosing circles and get the ball to drop into a numbered hole - you then had that number of points, Have I got it right this time?

Some Bagatelles had a sort of a spring mechanism to fire the ball bearings out, but ours had a long, thin, wooden stick/ baton that you struck them with.

We had one that my dad made I think my brother may have it still . My dad also made toys for my children and they are loved by my GC , although sure they wouldn’t pass ‘elf and safety’ nowadays!

LovesBach, I remember that our niece and nephew had a Bayko building set. It was a wonderful toy. I wonder if either if them have it now seeing how long ago it was!

Lovesbach,my sister and I also had a Bayko building set.I remember the green base and the steel rods as well as the beautiful houses we could build.
A forerunner of Lego.
But wouldn't the steel rods be classed as dangerous now.

My grandchildren like my old game of Larapino which is a bit like Bagatelle I think.

Ooh Bagatelle!

I bought one from a company called ‘House of Marbles’ about 30 years ago and it has had so much use over the years.
Everybody loves playing it at Christmas when I get it out and dust it off.
It’s a bit like a DIY pin ball machine.

Oldnproud

Some Bagatelles had a sort of a spring mechanism to fire the ball bearings out, but ours had a long, thin, wooden stick/ baton that you struck them with.

Oh yes, ours had a spring mechanism to shoot the balls with! Looked very similar to that one, I loved it!

We had one and it was very well used. 1950 probably. And yes we called it Bagatelle

My grandma's Bagatelle had a silvery metal tunnel in the middle. I think you got extra points if you got your ball down the tunnel.

I've got one too. It was my Dad's from when he was a young boy. Must be about 95 years old. Must get it out for my Granddaughter to play with.

Our bagatelle dates back to the late 19th/early 20th century. It was at my grandmother's house and my sisters and I loved playing with it.

It then went to my aunt, and my children loved playing with it. I now have it and DGC used to love it when they were small.

Yes we’ve got a green Bagatelle board that our grandsons enjoy playing with and writing the scores down then adding up to see if they can beat us. On the reverse is the Game of Shove Ha’penny. We use old pennies. My parents bought it in the 1930s.

I remember this Bagatelle game well. My grandparents had one.
I saved various of my daughter’s toys and her children loved them. She even bought more on eBay. Now she is wondering what to do as the children have outgrown them. Keep for another generation?

Is it a bagatelle (prototype pinball) or a shoveha'penny? We had both from my grandfather but goodness knows who has them now.

LovesBach, I've still got my Bayko set, well what's left of it. Up in the loft, spent many happy hours making houses with bay windows.