Jacks
Twosies and threesies were okay, but if you really wanted to be named
playground princess, sixies and sevensies were almost always required.
It’s said that Jacks have origins in ancient counting games, but
they started to captivate American kids around the turn of the
twentieth century. The balls weren’t rubber back then, but the object
was still the same: pour the spiky jacks (usually ten, twelve or
fourteen of them) out onto the ground, toss the ball in the air, then
pick up as many jacks as you can before the ball touches back down on
terra firma. If you’re playing with a red rubber ball, you have before
that devilish bouncer touches down twice.
Oh, it wasn't as easy as it sounds—especially since all of this is
done with one hand. And that, asphalt allies, was just round one. After
everyone in your circle of friends had a turn picking up the jacks one
at a time, the next step was to pick them up two at a time, then three
at a a time, and so on. Depending on how tough the kids in the circle
were feeling, if a player skipped a number or touched a jack that she
didn’t pick up, her turn was over. And when it was her turn again, she
may just have had to start back at the beginning, picking them up one
at a time.
The rules varied, and in some games, it was necessary to yell the
names of moves out mid-game, making Jacks not just a test of hand-eye
coordination test, but of verbal skill as well. “Haystacks,” “Cart
Before the Horse,” “Interference” and “Split Jack” were just some of
them (and don’t ask us what they mean, ask the girls).
When the game was over, you put your Jacks (or your Jumbo
Jacks—extra big for easier handling) in their pouch or their can and
called it a day. Hopefully, the imaginary playground princess crown was
yours, at least until the next match.
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