Penny Black is by far the most popular penny game. It’s the one you should try first, and in playing it you will learn the basic flicking skills required to play the other penny games. Remember that the push shot and penny diameter rules are especially important to the full enjoyment of this sensational game.

The photograph below shows the final of a Penny Black knock out competition at Menzies High School.

As far as the five Penny Games go, I recommend that your long term aim should be to play Penny Green (shown below) at an advanced level. For me, it's the most exciting game of all; but, I guess there are Penny Black devotees who will disagree.

On the other hand, if it's a strategy game you're looking for then I recommend Quarterback. Although it's loosely based on American Football, you don't need to know anything about American Football to enjoy it.

The offense, yellow and black, have three linemen, two wide receivers and a quarterback who doubles as a running back. The defense have three linemen, two cornerbacks and a safety.

"Everyone says to begin by learning how to play Penny Black. I didn't, though. I started with Penny White on the dining room table. We didn't even have a proper board, we just used the table. You don't need a board, you know. I mean it's obviously better with a board, but you don't need one to start with. Well we didn't anyway."