Wildwood Tournament is for All the Marbles and a Kiss [VIDEO]

The 89th annual National Marbles Tournament continues  through Thursday on the beach in Wildwood.  The traditional rite of summer attracts the top "mibsters", that's marble -speak for a player,  from all over the country.

More than 1200 games of marbles ...will be played this week in "Ringer Stadium", on the  Wildwood Avenue Beach.

A very basic breakdown of the rules: 13 marbles are placed in the form of an "X" in a 10 foot circle, with two players taking alternating shots to knock marbles out of the ring.  The winner is the first to shoot seven marbles out of the ring.

The marble shooters, boys and girls, age 8 to 14,  are playing for scholarships,  prizes and props in the national marble community (Yes, there really is such a thing!)  And then there's the kissing... it's tradition for the winning boy to give the girl champion a congratulatory kiss.

The National Marbles Tournament runs through Thursday from 8a.m. to 1p.m. and is free for spectators. Get more information at nationalmarblestournament.org or call 304-337-2764

Here's a photo montage put to music of last year's Marbles tournament...