Pick-up sticks

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Mikado pick-up sticks

Pick-up sticks or pick-a-stick is a game of physical and mental skill in which a bundle of "sticks", between 8 and 20 centimeters long, is dropped as a loose bunch onto a table top, jumbling into a random pile. Each player, in turn, tries to remove a stick from the pile without disturbing any of the others. The game has spawned several variants, including jackstraws (or jack straws), spellicans, and spillikins.

The game is believed to have developed from the yarrow stalks used for divination with the Chinese I Ching. It was first published in Germany about 1850. The sticks may be made of almost any material, such as ivory, bone, wood, bamboo, straw, reed, rush, yarrow, or plastics. Some Haida First Nation pick-up sticks are plain maple wood decorated with abalone shell and copper.

Today, the most common pick-up sticks game is Mikado. It remains difficult in all variations.

Play[]

The object of the game is to pick up the most sticks. At the begin of game play, a bundle of sticks is randomly distributed or dropped so that the sticks end up in a tangled pile. The more tangled the resulting disarray, the more challenging the game. In some versions of the game, any isolated sticks, or sticks lying alone, are removed. The players attempt to remove a single stick at a time, without moving any other stick. In some versions of the game, players use a tool to move the stick away from the pile; this "tool" may be one of the sticks, held aside before the game begins. In other versions, players must pick up the sticks by hand. In either case, players must not move any other thing while attempting to remove said stick; if any other stick moves, their turn immediately ends and they lose a turn. A player who successfully "picks-up sticks" keeps removing sticks until they cause a secondary stick to move, ending their turn.

In some versions of the game, different-coloured sticks are worth different numbers of points, and the winner is the person with the highest score.

Variants[]

Mikado[]

Mikado is a pick-up sticks game originating in Europe, played with a set of same-length sticks which can measure between 17 and 20 cm (6.7 and 7.9 in). The game is named for the highest-scoring (blue) stick "Mikado" (Emperor of Japan).

Scoring[]

Jack sticks or jack straw[]

The pieces in a jackstraw set are often thematically related to farmyard tools, such as ladders, rakes, shovels, and hoes. Typically, around 45 pieces are in a set, made of wood, plastic, bone, or ivory. In addition to the jack sticks, typically a helper piece with a hooked end is included for use in snagging and manipulating pieces. Each piece has a point value, with more challenging pieces being worth more points. The jack sticks game varies from pick-up sticks in points and equipment, but not in game play. Players try to win points by removing jackstraws – in the shapes of various tools – from the pile, one at a time.

Winning[]

At the end of the game, players total the point values of their jack straws. The players with the most points wins.

See also[]

• Jenga
• Jonchets
• Blockhead!