Nah, the original version was played with sheep knuckles. Not known for their bounciness, they were simply tossed into the air. The game was called knucklebones, funnily enough.
Basically, you have five 'jacks' (the things on the deck between them). Scatter them on the floor, bounce or toss the ball, pick up one jack from the floor and catch the ball. Repeat, picking up two jacks per toss, then three, and so on. Then it gets complicated.
ooh, I just found something that said it used to be a divination ritual as well. That could add another layer of meaning to that scene.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
branchandroot
(no subject)
Date: 2004-07-08 11:59 am (UTC)Nah, the original version was played with sheep knuckles. Not known for their bounciness, they were simply tossed into the air. The game was called knucklebones, funnily enough.
Basically, you have five 'jacks' (the things on the deck between them). Scatter them on the floor, bounce or toss the ball, pick up one jack from the floor and catch the ball. Repeat, picking up two jacks per toss, then three, and so on. Then it gets complicated.
ooh, I just found something that said it used to be a divination ritual as well. That could add another layer of meaning to that scene.