Knucklebones, also known as Tali, Fivestones, or Jacks, is a game of ancient origin, usually played with five small objects, or ten in the case of jacks. Originally the "knucklebones" (actually the astragalus, a bone in the ankle, or hock) were those of a sheep, which were thrown up and caught in various manners. Modern knucklebones consist of six points, or knobs, proceeding from a common base, and are usually made of metal or plastic. The winner is the first player to successfully complete a prescribed series of throws, which, though similar, differ widely in detail.
The simplest throw consists in either tossing up one stone, the jack, or bouncing a ball, and picking up one or more stones or knucklebones from the table while it is in the air. This continues until all five stones or knucklebones have been picked up. Another throw consists in tossing up first one stone, then two, then three and so on, and catching them on the back of the hand. Different throws have received distinctive names, such as "riding the elephant", "peas in the pod", "horses in the stable", and "frogs in the well".
The sheep knucklebones below are from the collection of Museums Victoria and it is understandable how in a sheep-raising country like Australia, Jacks would have been traditionally played with sheep bones.
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I can't imagine playing jacks with these. They're rather interesting, and surely I'd find a use for them.
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It been ages since I played jacks and actual at one time I was fairly good at jacks
ReplyDeleteBut I would use the joints for soup flavoring
Coffee is on
still they look somewhat scary, like old teeth
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jacks i was not familiar with
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