Play conkers

Conkers is a great game to play with your family and friends.

Play conkers

What you'll need

To get your conker ready you will need:

  1. Conkers

  2. Screwdriver or nail

  3. String

  4. An opponent (someone to play against)

What to do

Play safely and be careful of your eyes as you play!

  1. Before you can play conkers, you need to find some! Go for an exploring walk through your local park or gardens and see how many conkers you can find. They are a shiny, brown colour and are the seeds from the horse chestnut tree.

  2. Choose a big, strong conker for your competition.

  3. Get a strong grown up to make a hole going right through your conker from top to bottom.

  4. Carefully thread a length of string through your conker and tie it in a knot at one end to stop it falling off.

  5. Get playing! One player holds their conker steady, dangling from the string, whilst the other player tries to hit it with their conker.

  6. The winner is the person who has a conker left on their string.

Get involved

The Royal Horticultural Society is the UK’s leading gardening charity. We aim to enrich everyone’s life through plants, and make the UK a greener and more beautiful place.