Daily Idea #303: Jacks

Since for this week’s daily ideas we are going with old school games, I am taking to day to teach my kids how to play jacks. You need the jacks set, but they are very easy to find (it includes a small bouncy ball and smallish metal pieces in a star type shape).

The rules are pretty easy to follow— the player drops the jacks on the ground to start. They then bounce the ball and before it can bounce a second time, the player has to pick up one jack. Continue until all jacks are picked up. Once all the jacks are collected, drop them again on the ground, and when the player bounces the ball they pick up two jacks without the ball bouncing more than twice. Continue play until you get all the way up to picking up all ten jacks at one time.

Then, in researching this game, I found this site which has variations on the rules and the plays. Enjoy!