Old game a hit with kids and educators

By JULIE SPEARS, OBSERVER Staff Writer
3/5/2007
Originally played by drawing the board on the sidewalk, street or playground, the legendary 100-year-old game Skullys now has been developed into a portable game.

Tommy Roque recently patented his Skullys Killer Diller and is pleased to see that children and educators alike are enjoying the new version of an old game.

“When we were kids we played outside,” Roque said. “There was hopscotch, skullys, and games like hide and go seek. These kids are enjoying this game and are playing it within five minutes.” Roque has a long history of working with area children through his boxing programs and the past 2XL program.

Roque played the game as a child and wanted to recreate the game for a broader audience. He is now founder and developer of Skullys, the patented version of the age old favorite. Roque is a well-known and accomplished boxing coach and enthusiastic youth advocate who grew up in the Bronx.

For the past 20 years Roque has lived in Western New York. The game was played in the boroughs of New York City. A game board was drawn on the sidewalk and crown-rimmed bottle caps were used as the game pieces. The new version has a versatile durable vinyl 4-foot by 4- foot mat and pieces that glide easily on and off the game mat.

The new version can be played indoors or outdoors and does not require a chalk drawing to play. The game has also been called bottle caps, skullys, deadbox, and skeltzies through the generations. The game is played with each player getting one checker.

The object of the game is to go from box one to box thirteen in progression while using your weighted checker to knock your opponent off the board. Over the years, as players grew up variations of the game have been played. The game continues to be played at street fairs, neighborhood festivals and playgrounds. Roque has been playing the game and teaching the process to local children.

For educators, Skullys may prove to be a valuable teaching aid in the classroom. Skullys is a number game that has players counting up and down on the numbered mat. Learning strategies include learning basic social skills and cooperative play, as well as learning how to sequence numbers, do math calculations, and learn number identification. Other benefits include enhancing eye-hand coordination, development of higher level thinking skills, and winning in a friendly, competitive way.

The street game is the Roque’s brainchild. His Dunkirk-based company, La Roque Inc., will produce and market the game. For more information, call 366-1474.

Skullys board game to go on sale

1/28/2007
There’s a new game in town. Skullys, a legendary street game played in playgrounds, sidewalks, streets and at urban fairs for the past 100 years, has been adapted for indoor, year-round play.

Skullys will be launched in New York City and Western New York in the coming weeks.

The re-thinking of this street game is the brainchild of Dunkirk resident Tommy Roque. Roque is a well-known and accomplished boxing coach and enthusiastic youth advocate who grew up in the Bronx and for the past 20 years has lived in Western New York. Roque, who played the game as a child, had the idea to re-create it for a broader audience over a decade ago.

His Dunkirk based company, La Roque Inc., will produce and market the game. The business phone number is 716-366-1474.

For generations skullys has been drawn with chalk anywhere children could find a flat surface, and the game was played in many cities in the Northeast, including New York City, Baltimore and Philadelphia since early 1900s. Children from different neighborhoods knew the game by different names: skullys, skeltzies, bottle caps and deadbox.

The game has been played as far back as the first crowned top bottle caps were around and someone thought of pitching them across the sidewalk at a target. It has evolved to become a staple competition in neighborhood and street festivals in New York City. The game provides fun and competition for young children and offers challenge and a test of skill to players of all ages.

The Skullys version is played on a four-by-four foot mat. Chips or “shooters” are pitched into numbered boxes to proceed to the center box of the mat. The game has been test marketed at schools and youth programs. Universally students and teachers alike have praised it as a source of fun-filled, team oriented, learning. The game package will be available for sale on the Web at www.skullys.us and at selected stores. The game will be marketed in the New York Metropolitan area, Philadelphia and the East Coast.

“Skully has been played for generations,” Roque said. “It brought all of the kids in the old neighborhoods together to play and gave us all a lifetime of memories. Skully can be played anywhere. Any age, race, gender and nationality can play. The game makes you think and will help get the kids away from the computers to interact with each other (and it won’t hurt the parents and grandparents to play as well).”

Roque plans to use a part of the profits from game sales to promote various youth activities including his beloved boxing program “2XL.”