Jacks
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- For the musical group of same name, see Jacks (1960s Japanese band)
Jacks (sometimes called jackstones, fivestones or onesies) is a playground game for children.
The game originated hundreds of years ago, when the only playthings boys and girls had were materials they found near their homes. They collected small stones and animal bones and learned to use them in a game. They tossed them into the air and did similar to today's version of the game.
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[edit] Pieces
A set of jacks consists of fifteen small metal six-pointed stars, called 'jacks', and a rubber ball. The playing surface is any flat area, such as the tarmac of a playground. Sometimes an area may be delineated in chalk, but more often it is just the space between the two players.
[edit] Play
The players decide who goes first, perhaps via ip dip, (American: 'One Two') or a variant, then the jacks are scattered loosely into the play area. The players take it in turn to bounce the ball off the surface, then pick up jacks, then catch the ball before it bounces twice.
There are variants on this procedure. Sometimes the ball is thrown into the air rather than bounced. Sometimes it is bounced against a wall or target, if that is in the vicinity of play. Sometimes no bounce is allowed at all.
In some variants, the players must pick up as many jacks as possible in each turn. Perhaps more commonly, the number of jacks to be picked up is pre-ordained and sequential: at first you must pick up one (onesies), next two (twosies), and so on.
In most versions of the game, only one hand may be used. To simplify play, both may be used; to make it harder, or to impose a handicap, a player might be required to use their off-hand (eg, the left if right-handed).
[edit] Winning
The winning player is the one to pick up the largest number of jacks. Ideally this would be all fifteen, but that goal is rarely, if ever, achieved.
