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Knuckle-Bones

This game is played with five little bones from a sheep's trotter. One player tosses up the knuckle-bones, sometimes one at a time, sometimes all together, and catches them either in the palm or on the back of his hand, according to certain rules. Should he fail to perform one of the tricks properly, he must hand the bones to his opponent, who attempts to go through the same series of manoeuvres with them. When the first player regains the bones through the unskilful play of his adversary, he once more attempts the feat he failed to accomplish before, and if he succeeds he tries to pass through the subsequent stages of the game. The player who first arrives at the end of the regulated series of tricks wins the game. It would be impossible to give the reader a clear idea of the manner of performing each trick without the aid of diagrams. In almost every school may be found an experienced player at knuckle-bones, whose directions will be of more value than any remarks we can make, though we were to devote a couple of pages to this pastime. In some parts of England a similar game, called "Jackstones," is played with small round pebbles.