The nights are drawing in, the leaves on the trees are changing colour and the air is getting chilly, which can only mean one thing... autumn is here!
And with autumn comes the nation's favourite childhood game, conkers!
If you fancy recapturing your youth with a game, read these tips and make sure you've got an unbeatable conker before you play.
How to play
To play the schoolyard autumn game Conkers, two players must each find a round conker (the seed from a Horse Chestnut Tree).
Make a hole in the conker using a nail or drill, then thread a piece of string or a shoelace through.
The two players then take it in turns to hit each other's conker until it breaks and there is one champion conker left.
The first player holds out their conker at arm's length, hanging down, ready to be hit. The string should be wrapped around their hand to stop it being dropped.
Moisturise your conker
Coating your conker with hand cream makes the outside more resistance to impact.
Cover the conker with cream or vaseline and the shell will become more flexible to impact and less likely to break.
Pickling conkers in vinegar
Pickling conkers in vinegar for a few hours is said to harden them according to schoolyard legend!
Bake your conker
By baking your conker in the oven at a low heat, you will toughen it and this makes your conker less likely to crack under pressure.
Leave it in the oven long enough to make it tough, without the outside of the conker wrinkling.
Use an old champion
One of the best ways to get a tough conker is to use one of last year's champions... Leaving them in a cool place for a year hardens them and makes them less likely to break.
String tactics
Make the hole for the string as small as possible, so there's less chance of the conker slipping off and getting broken.
For more of an autumnal feel, why not pick up a Pumpkin Spice Latte to drink after your conker game?
