Old-Fashioned Game of Jacks
Teach the kids how to play Chinese Jacks!
Submitted by
Kayla Chong
Kayla Chong
This game was a smash in the '80s, but along with Cyndi Lauper and acid-washed jeans, it faded into obscurity ... Until now! So pop in your old "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" tape and bust out your jacks for some retro fun!
- Jacks:They're hard-to-find unless you can time-warp back to 1983 (just please don't bring back bolo ties!). Try Wacky Jax.
- Players:At least one, but you can play this game with as many people as you want.
- The floor:a.k.a. your playing surface.
Toss five jacks onto your playing surface. (10 is too hard unless you have hands the size of Shaq's!)
Toss the jacks into the air, one by one (onesies).
As each one falls, catch it on the back of your hand. If a jack fails to land on (or falls off) the back of your hand, you lose your turn to the next person.
If you successfully catch all five jacks, one at a time, move on to twosies!
For twosies, toss the jacks up in pairs. You have to catch them both on the back of your hand. The leftover jack is tossed into the air solo, and must be caught on the back of your hand as well.
Move on to threesies, foursies and the ultimate challenge, fivesies. Whenever you're left with an odd number of jacks, toss them up, too.
- Remember back in grade school when your best gal pal made you that awesome Chinese jacks friendship bracelet? Well, you may not have any idea where your former BFF is these days, but you can still make her style of flashy jewelry by linking the multicolored rings together to form necklaces and bracelets.
- Want to introduce the kids to more old-school games? Check out Nick Jr.'s 5 Favorite Chalk Games for everything from tic-tac-toe to hopscotch.
Submit!
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