Skully (Sidewalk Game in New York City)

Skully Bam! Bam! Boom!— you're a goner shouts Skully player to others in the courtyard of Glen Oaks where teenagers gathered to play. This sidewalk game occupied us the whole summer as we knelt on our knees shooting bottlecaps from Square 1 to 9 before darkness sets in. Went to stores with soda machines to collect our bottlecaps— Coke, Pepsi, White Rock, Canada Dry, Budweiser and Heineken Beer. We took great pride in our bottlecaps like samurai with shining swords— they must have no dents or scratches, perfectly smooth and immaculate. Flick your finger with a light touch, going from one Square to the next— Don't overshoot to the grassland or land in those Skully trapezoids to start game all over again. Be friends with other players so they won't blast you away. Keep focus and you will win.     — Peter Y. Chou         Mountain View, 3-13-2021