Prophetical, Educational and Playing Cards

by Mrs. John King Van Rensselaer

Jackstones may be of many different materials, although those most commonly used are the simple round pebbles found by any roadside. A set in the writer’s collection is of bone, which was common in New York about 1850. Others are of glass and are said to be Phœnician. Ivory and sheeps’ knuckles are favourites with children, who in modern times have added a small rubber ball for a Jack.

The game seems to be universal, for children on the Nile, in Hungary, Austria, France, England, and the United States all seem to play the same primitive game that is common in Asia. In “Korean Games” (page 58), Mr. Culin calls it Kong-Keui, and says it is played by boys with five or six stones or pieces of bricks. When girls play, they use cash or coins, and then the game is called Tja-Ssei. When played with stones, it is called Ishi-Nago, or throwing stones, and ten of these are used. The Chinese call the game Chaptsz, or picking up stones.

No rules for the Western game seem ever to have been written, but they are transmitted from one generation to another with almost no difference, whatever the country may be, although it is noticeable that the innovation of the rubber ball for a Jack seems to have been introduced by the Polish or Russian Jew children to the New Yorkers, as it is chiefly played by these little immigrants. The game has nothing to do with divination, and is one merely of skill, as it is a simple amusement of the most primitive kind, for, given a handful of stones, any one can learn the game, and, with a moderate amount of practice, can play it with more or less skill.

There are five pieces to a set; four are of equal value, and the fifth is called the Jack. Any one of the five may be used for the Jack, which is simply the stone that is tossed into the air while the others are gathered in the hand.

The sets (or their order) are agreed upon beforehand by the players. Any number can take part, for each one plays for himself, and the winner is the one who independently executes all the difficult sets without failing. Any place is convenient for the game, and the stones are generally thrown on the lap, the ground, a pillow, a doorstep, or even the pavement.

“Muggins” is the name of the first set, which consists in gathering all five stones in the palm of the right hand and throwing them into the air together, then catching all five on the back of the hand. Without stopping, the stones must be thrown again in the air and all five caught together in the hand. This makes all the stones of equal value and all of them Jacks (the technical name for the stone thrown in the air while different movements are being done). The Muggins set requires considerable dexterity, and a player dropping any one of the stones loses his turn, which passes to the player on the left. The next set is not started until all the players have successfully accomplished their turn of Muggins, which must be done five times in succession without failing.

“Milking the Cow” is the name of the second set. The stones are gathered in the hand and the Jack is thrown into the air, and while it is “up,” one stone is quietly and gently placed upon the table from the palm, but must not be thrown or dropped, and the Jack caught as it comes down. This is repeated until all the stones are discarded one after the other, the art being to do this without letting more than one escape at a time. If this is not done, the turn passes to the next player on the left; but, if successfully accomplished, the stones are swept into a heap and caught up in the hand while the Jack is in the air. All the players must do this in succession or lose their turn. Those who have not completed the first Muggins take their turn here, and must do it five times without fault before beginning to milk.

“Grab” is the name of the third set, and it is difficult. It is called “Laying Eggs” in Korea. It is done by laying four stones about two inches apart in a row, tossing the Jack and picking them up one by one. The first stone is kept in the hollow of the palm of the right hand while the Jack is tossed and the second stone is picked up. This is retained, and the third stone is picked up in the same way, and so on until all are caught in the right hand. Then all are placed in a heap and are gathered while the Jack is tossed. The left hand is not used at all in these two sets.

“Peas in the Pot” is the first set of the second part of the game. The left hand is partly closed and four stones are placed about an inch apart in a row, the first one touching the thumb. Players, to show their skill, will often make the spaces wider, but they must not throw the Jack any higher than is usual, which is about a foot and a half. The play consists in throwing the Jack, and, while it is in the air, one stone after another is picked up and put in the pot (which is the left hand). Some players push the stones into the pot. To do so, the thumb and forefinger of the left hand are opened to allow the stones to pass in, but this is considered unworkmanlike by good players. The stones, after being placed in the pot and the left hand removed, are gathered with one swoop as the Jack is tossed.

“Horses in the Stable” is played with the fingers of the left hand outstretched to form stalls. The stones are placed about four inches away on the table, and must be pushed into the stalls one by one while the Jack is aloft. Then all are gathered up at once in the right hand while the Jack is tossed. In Hindustan the native girls have their photographs taken when playing this set of Jackstones.