The poll found the game, which involves players striking one another's collected nuts until one of them breaks, was the most popular among the 3,000 adults surveyed, The Telegraph reported Thursday.

The game has become controversial in British schools, with some institutions banning the practice for safety reasons and others requiring players to wear safety goggles.

Second place in the poll went to the Rubik's Cube, a multi-colored puzzle game that has sold more than 300 million units since it was first released in 1979.

The yo-yo, which first appeared in the 1920s and experienced a surge of popularity in the 1990s, came in third in the poll. Fourth place in the poll went to hopscotch and popular 1990s game pogs, which involved stacks of colored cardboard disks, came in fifth.

"Conkers are a classic school ground craze and every generation can reflect on happy memories collecting conkers and preparing them for playground contests," a spokesman for pollster Debenhams said. "The Rubik's Cube is another time-honored toy which has dominated playgrounds across the country -- first in the 80s and again now as the puzzle is celebrating a comeback."