Games - Fivestones

Throughout the ages many children played simple throwing and catching games with small stones or similar objects.

Some of the folk games mentioned in Gomme's review appear as; Jackstones, Fivestones, Hucklebones, Knucklebones, Checkstones, Jacks, Dibbs or Dallies depending upon the area of the country. These all seem to be a different variation of the same game using different objects ranging from shells to sheep's trotters to small pieces of hard wood. The number of objects varies between three and six.

Peter Brueghel's excellent painting done in 1560 called, 'Children at Play' clearly shows two female children playing with knucklebones. Gomme gives two references for Checkstones. The first is listed from Nashe's Lenten Stuff (1599) and says: '.yet toward cock crow she caught a little slumber, and she dreamed that Leander and she were playing at Checkstone with pearls at the bottom of the sea.'.

The second is to a reference in a play, Apollo Strung of 1627. Opie gives a number of period sources; 1587 Arthur Golding, translating from a French piece writes; 'yoong children, which set al their felictie in Checkstones and pins'. 'Chackstones' are mentioned in Cotgrave's Dictionaire (1611).

Donne's Paradoxes (1652) says '.presented to us as playing at Dabstone..'. In Thoughts Concerning Education (1693) Locke states 'I have seen little girls exercise whole hours together and take abundance of pains to be expert at Dibstones as they call it'.

In Gomme, a set of 'checks' is described as: 'five cubes each about half inch at the edge, and a ball the size of a bagatelle ball - all made of pot'.

The ball would of course have been used as the 'cast'. A French game 'Martres' is translated as 'ball and hucklebones' in 1653 by Urquhart (from Opie) and balls were certainly being used c.1734 from Chardin's picture 'Les Osselets'; of a girl playing at a table with four knucklebones and a ball.

The Stem game (simplest version)

Play is with five or six small stones or similar objects. The stones are taken in one hand and cast to the ground.

One, the cast stone, is picked up. This is thrown into the air from one hand and caught by the same hand. Whilst in flight the caster must also pick up one other stone with the same hand.

If this is performed successfully, the cast is thrown again and a further stone must be picked. This continues until all four or five are picked. Then all the picked up stones are thrown to the ground again.

The cast stone is thrown again and the player attempts to pick up two stones whilst catching the cast. If this is successful, the player can attempt to pick up a further pair.

The stones are thrown again and this time the player must pick up three in the first cast followed by one (or two) on the second cast. On the final throw, the player must pick up all four (or five) in a single cast.

The player continues to do this until they either drop the cast stone or they pick up all fivestones. Play then passes to the next player, the winner of each round being the person who goes through the sequence the furthest.

The 'picked up' stones should remain in the right hand (which should be the one used for casting and picking) but it seems fair to allow children to transfer the picked stones to their other hand.

Fivestones provides a simple means of passing spare time on a living history camp. Although it is unclear how popular an adult pastime it was in our period, Tali was used as the base for complicated gambling games in Roman times and I would suggest it is suitable for both children and adults. It certainly proves interesting to the public and I have played with visitors at a number of events.

Sets can be made simply, by finding five small pebbles. More impressive sets can be made by visiting a friendly butcher and acquiring half a dozen pigs trotters. These can be boiled to remove the flesh and the knucklebones produced will make three or 4 sets suitable for different sized hands.

Before playing, it's best to read the rules of the game.

Sources:

Traditional Games of England vols. 1 & 2, 1894, A. B. Gomme;
Children's Games throughout the Year, 1949, L Daiken
Children's Games with Things, 1997, Iona & Peter Opie
Everyman's Book of Solo Games, 1983, Gyles Brandreth
World Book of Children's Games, 1975, A Arnold