2 Related Riddles

Question

I come in many shapes and sizes.
Some forms have even won some prizes.
But most of us look much the same.
Speed you can gain with some game.
But what is my name?

To use us you must have some tricks.
For there are us two times six.
You most likely haven't seen us in a while.
We are probably sitting in some pile.
Think of us, and smile :)

What is 'it' and what are 'them'

Edit:
Last lines of both riddles are just to finish the rhyme,
Edit #2:
Added new hint.

Hint #1

I am something you might use everyday,
Or maybe not, if your hair is gray.
My ancenstors were great,
They had significant weight.

Our functions are plenty,
Together, we are over twenty.
With some numbers and a letter,
For us to be gone, maybe its for the better.

Hint #2

With arrows in many directions,
One of the could be even used for corrections.
I control many things,
But you control my springs.

We are half of what we used to be,
For you to help find us, look for a key.
Our brethren still locked on tight,
Think about it, you will get it. Right?

Answer 1

I think 'it' is...

a ring

I come in many shapes and sizes.

Rings do come in various shapes and sizes

Some forms have even won some prizes.

There are some prized rings as well as prize fighters entering a ring.

But most of us look much the same.

The classic round shape

Speed you can gain with some game.

D&D or video game RPGs can have rings that increase movement speed

I think 'they' are...

pips

To use us you must have some tricks.

Pips are the numbered symbols in the corners of playing cards. Maybe do some magic tricks.

For there are us two times six.

A pair of dice has 12 pips.

You most likely haven't seen us in a while. We are probably sitting in some pile.

I attribute both of these clues to the pips on dominoes.

Think of us, and smile :)

Good times had with dice, card games or dominoes :)

How they relate? Well...

With a little research I discovered that there are rings made that essentially act as a splint for PIP (proximal interphalangeal) joint injuries. A stretch there, maybe, but hopefully not a hyperextension :)

Answer 2

I think it is

A camera

I come in many shapes and sizes.

They sure do

Some forms have even won some prizes.

The high end ones produce photos that win prizes.

But most of us look much the same.

Most do look very similar.

Speed you can gain with some game.

Shutter speed can be increased.

But what is my name?

Camera

I think they are

Photo booth strips

To use us you must have some tricks.

A normal camera doesn't produce/develop them

For there are us two times six.

This is the dimensions for a photo booth strip

You most likely haven't seen us in a while.

Even though they are nice to have, they are normally stored away in a photo album and not looked at for long periods of time.

We are probably sitting in some pile.

Or sitting in a pile in a box since they don't fit the normal photo album dimensions.

Think of us, and smile :)

Remember the fun times with friends and poses at events n'such.

Answer 3

I think 'it' is:

A car

I come in many shapes and sizes.

Yep

Some forms have even won some prizes.

Race cars that win races

But most of us look much the same.

There are a lot of similar cars on the road

Speed you can gain with some game.

Possibly relating to car racing

And 'they' are:

A pack of cards

To use us you must have some tricks.

You can do many card tricks

For there are us two times six.

Not sure; possibly relating to the numbers on the cards

You most likely haven't seen us in a while.

Cards don't really get played often these days

We are probably sitting in some pile.

Cards are stored in piles

And how are these two answers related, you ask?

Add the letter 'd' to car and you get card.

Answer 4

It is ...

a computer keyboard.

I come in many shapes and sizes.

You can find keyboards in all different form factors, from this atrocity used by Blackberry devices, to flexible, rollable silicon designs, to unusual footprints like this, to oldies but goodies, to ... whatever this thing is.

Some forms have even won some prizes.

Google tells me these folks have gotten several awards for their keyboards.
Possibly NSFW warning on this 2018 European Product Design Award (Silver) for Media and Home Electronics/Electronic Device Accessory winner. (Nice name, guys!)
There are plenty of others. I expected to find some sort of prize or award for the Dvorak keyboard layout but apparently no such award was ever given.

But most of us look much the same.

Well, yes.

Speed you can gain with some game.

There are a lot of games out there to help people improve typing speed and accuracy.
TypeRacer, anyone?

(From Hint #1)

  I am something you might use everyday
Many people use computers every day
  Or maybe not, if your hair is gray.
But some older folks are not computer literate, and tend not to use them.
  My ancenstors were great,
  They had significant weight.
Older keyboards, IBM keyboards in particular, tended to be large, solid, and quite heavy.

(From Hint #2)

  With arrows in many directions,
Four directional keys, ENTER, SHIFT, and TAB; these are all traditionally labeled with arrows
  One of the could be even used for corrections.
Plus the BACKSPACE key (another arrow) used to erase typing errors
  I control many things,
Many programs have keyboard shortcuts to control their operation. May also be a CTRL reference.
  But you control my springs.
Some, especially older, keyboards literally have springs in their keys. You control them.

---

They may be ...

the Function keys

To use us you must have some tricks.

On some keyboards, such as on many Macs, media keyboards, or some laptops, the top row keys are dual-use; their default is media or system controls, like volume and screen/keyboard brightness, and to use them as Fn keys requires hitting an additional key.

For there are us two times six.

There are F1 through F12 on a traditional PC keyboard.

You most likely haven't seen us in a while.

I'm less certain of my answer because of this line, but perhaps if you are more on mobile devices where the keyboard layout lacks Fn keys this may be true for you.

We are probably sitting in some pile.

Well, yeah; I have a pile of older keyboards here, with plenty of Fn keys on 'em.

(From Hint #1)

  Our functions are plenty,
  Together, we are over twenty.
If you include Print Screen Scroll Lock Break Ins Del Home End PgUp PgDn
you get to 21 "function" keys...
  With some numbers and a letter,
"F" + the numerals 1 to 12
  For us to be gone, maybe its for the better.
Someone doesn't like PC keyboards, I guess? Granted, Fn keys are not much used these days.

(From Hint #2)

  We are half of what we used to be,
One more time... this keyboard and many of its era had 24 function keys.
  For you to help find us, look for a key.
Probably a reference to the actual Fn key needed to access F1..F12 on certain keyboards.
  Our brethren still locked on tight,
Not sure.

Answer 5

First one could be

A computer. The hint is more indicative of this than the main riddle.

Second one, I'm not so sure.

Something outdated whose name is numbers and one letter? I'm not a computer guy so I can't think of anything.

Answer 6

Is it...

Dice

Comes in many shapes and sizes

there are many types of dice

Used to win prizes

There are dice games you can win prizes

Most of us look the same

mainly all dice are cubes

To use you must have some tricks

you can be good at rolling dice if played enough

Two times six

two dice each with six sides

Haven't seen us in a while

don't use dice often

My ancestors were great weight

old dice were heavy

Functions are plenty

you can use dice for a lot of things

Our count is over twenty

I guess if you count the dots its greater than 20

Answer 7

Correction: After this answer was fully developed and consistent with what was available, a new "hint" was added that invalidated most of the answer. With the new information, the answer is more likely to be

a compass

with some of the same reasoning below still applicable.

However, after seeing that significant late change, I am no longer investing time into this one or likely to participate in other puzzles by this OP.

---

Original answer:

It is

A calculator

and the letter is

C, for Clear

I come in many shapes and sizes.

Calculators do come in many shapes and sizes.

Some forms have even won some prizes.

Some forms/designs are very impressive and have won prizes.

But most of us look much the same.

The basic set of buttons and a display is pretty common.

Speed you can gain with some game.

Using a calculator can make you faster at arithmetic.

But what is my name?

Calculator

To use us you must have some tricks.

You do have to know how to use it, and it helps to know arithmetic rules like commutative and associative properties.

For there are us two times six.

12 buttons on the number pad

You most likely haven't seen us in a while.
We are probably sitting in some pile.
Think of us, and smile :)

Calculators have fallen into disuse with more powerful smartphones and computers becoming more common, and the ones people used to use are probably sitting in a pile of "stuff" or even a landfill.

Hint line 1:

I am something you might use everyday,
A device to assist with basic mathematical calculations might be something you use everyday.

Hint line 2 (Did you know spoiler tags don't work if preceded by a blank line?):

Or maybe not, if your hair is gray.
People who grew up in a time when calculators were not assumed to be generally available when needed may have just memorized the arithmetic.

Hint lines 3-4:

My ancestors were great,
They had significant weight.
Old computing devices were large and heavy.

Hint line 5:

Our functions are plenty,
Depends what type of calculator you have, but they do tend to have various functions.

Hint line 6:

Together, we are over twenty.
Basic arithmetic functions can be combined together in >20 ways. Also, if you count the function buttons, there are >20 buttons on a basic calculator.

Hint line 7:

With some numbers and a letter,
The letter is C, for Clear.

Hint line 8:

For us to be gone, maybe its for the better.
Calculators have generally fallen into disuse in favor of more powerful devices, which may be for the better (depending on your perspective).

Answer 8

I think you are:

An analog clock

I come in many shapes and sizes.

Clocks of course come in many shapes, from wristwatch to grandfather clock.

Some forms have even won some prizes.

From Big Ben to a Rolex, there are lots of famous or prized clocks

But most of us look much the same.

They do.

Speed you can gain with some game.

As they say, time goes faster when you're having fun (playing a game).

Second Part:
You are:

The numbers on the face of an analog clock.

To use us you must have some tricks.

Getting time from an analog clock requires knowledge. With digital clocks being so common these days, some people don't know how to read them.

For there are us two times six.

There are twelve numbers on a clock face.

You most likely haven't seen us in a while.

Everyone's digital these days.

We are probably sitting in some pile.
Think of us, and smile :)
Will do.

Hint 1:

Retired people have less need to keep track of the time. Old clocks are generally larger and heavier.

Hint 1 Part 2:

I believe this refers to AM/PM. You can specify 24 hours in the day by adding letters (AM or PM).

Hint 2:

Hands of a clock are arrows. One clock can be used to correct another. Some old clocks are powered by a spring, that must be wound by a key.