Nine skittles are used in a game of table skittles. In this game Nine small skittles are positioned in a square on a raised base, nine inches square. Dimensions of the table are about two feet by two feet six inches. The height of the side walls should be about three inches high. In the middle of the left hand side of the base (as the player looks at it) stands a pole about three feet high connected to which is a swivelled chain with a a wooden ball at the other end suspended at same height as the skittles. The pins and ball would normally be made of boxwood or other English hardwood. The ball is swung clockwise around behind the pole, the objective being to knock over the skittles as it returns to the player. So in order to knock over all nine skittles, a player must hit the skittle furthest away first.
