# The game of ball and jacks **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 3, 2026, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-game-of-ball-and-jacks/1029009 "2026-04-03T17:41:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2026, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-game-of-ball-and-jacks/1029009/1 "2026-04-03T17:41:09Z")
I read a quote the other day that mentioned that kids in ancient Egypt played “knucklebones” with sheep toe bones. The game of knucklebones led to dice games for boys, and jacks, usually played with a wooden ball, for girls. It’s been on my mind since. Because as a kid I often wondered about the shape of the jacks. Why 4 rounded points and two sharp ones? See here: ([https://www.museumofplay.org/app/uploads/2021/08/jacks\_0.png](https://www.museumofplay.org/app/uploads/2021/08/jacks_0.png)) Were these jacks designed for the game or were they already used for something else and were just co-opted into the game of jacks? When were they first made and by whom (in the above mentioned form)? ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2026, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-game-of-ball-and-jacks/1029009/2 "2026-04-03T18:05:14Z")
The closest answer I could find is ‘we don’t know’. > **[Jack | Historic Jamestowne](https://historicjamestowne.org/collections/artifacts/projectile-points/jack/)** > > Visit the real thing at Historic Jamestowne, explore the actual location and active archaeological dig, Jamestown Rediscovery, home of the first successful English settlement. > It is unclear when the six pronged shape of Jacks came about I do kind of wonder if they came about because, I’m guessing, it’s an easy shape to manufacture. With points instead of balls on two ends, it can be done with a two part mold. ---
**Author:** ![Karen\_Lingel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karen_lingel/32/18649_2.png) [@Karen\_Lingel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Karen_Lingel)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2026, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-game-of-ball-and-jacks/1029009/3 "2026-04-03T18:18:07Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > With points instead of balls on two ends, it can be done with a two part mold. Upvote. ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2026, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-game-of-ball-and-jacks/1029009/4 "2026-04-04T13:12:05Z")
Jacks were never a fixture in my own home–I think when I was a kid it was mostly girls who played with them–but it occurs to me that they surely must be excellent [caltrops](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caltrop), in the era before LEGO blocks. Imagine stepping on one of those in the middle of the night! ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2026, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-game-of-ball-and-jacks/1029009/5 "2026-04-04T13:22:43Z")
Interestingly, the link I posted above made the exact same comparison > It is unclear when the six pronged shape of Jacks came about, but curators at Jamestown couldn’t help but notice the jacks similarity to caltrops. Like today’s Legos, when toys like this aren’t cleaned up at the end of the day, the effect on a tired parents foot in the darkness of night would be similar to the effect of a [caltrop](https://historicjamestowne.org/collections/artifacts/caltrops/)! Ouch! ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2026, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-game-of-ball-and-jacks/1029009/6 "2026-04-06T15:41:24Z")
Interestingly, I found a somewhat similar shape (tetrapod) used as a [wave-dissipating concrete block.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wave-dissipating_concrete_block) ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2026, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-game-of-ball-and-jacks/1029009/7 "2026-04-06T15:50:27Z")
There’s also a different tetrapod shape, like two Ts with the same stem, that’s used for that purpose. Either one would be painful to a barefoot giant. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2026, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-game-of-ball-and-jacks/1029009/8 "2026-04-06T19:17:42Z")
> [@minor7flat5](#): > > I think when I was a kid it was mostly girls who played with them About 5th grade, jacks became a big fad in my school, and guys played just as much, or more, than the girls. We even played on the school bus. Then it just as quickly became a non-fad. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2026, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-game-of-ball-and-jacks/1029009/9 "2026-04-09T04:33:58Z")
> [@Lucas\_Jackson](#): > > It’s been on my mind since. Because as a kid I often wondered about the shape of the jacks. Why 4 rounded points and two sharp ones? See here: ([https://www.museumofplay.org/app/uploads/2021/08/jacks\_0.png](https://www.museumofplay.org/app/uploads/2021/08/jacks_0.png)) One thing I remember about jacks, when we got them from the girls across the street, was that they made fine little tops to play with. Although spinning the jacks as tops isn’t part of the game, it almost seems like they were designed to be spun. The four heavier ends seem to facilitate that. Was the game played with a wooden ball? I thought it was a small red rubber ball, because you were supposed to bounce the ball as part of the game. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2026, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-game-of-ball-and-jacks/1029009/10 "2026-04-09T14:53:56Z")
Yep, I used my sister’s as tops as well. Perfectly suited for that. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2026, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-game-of-ball-and-jacks/1029009/11 "2026-04-09T16:28:04Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > Was the game played with a wooden ball? I thought it was a small red rubber ball, The history of jacks goes back centuries before rubber became common enough to waste on toys. Wooden then; rubber now.