RING AND STICK GAME
This game, also called the Ring and Pin game, is recognized as the oldest game
in history. Basically, you hold the stick so the pointed end is up in the air, then
swing the ring upward in an attempt to catch the ring with the stick. You may notice
the way this particular gaming tool is designed that it is quite difficult. You might
want to start by holding the pointed end of the stick and swinging the ring onto the
blunt end of the stick.
These sticks can be made by the
students using a 9 inch long stick,
a 15 inch piece of string and a
plastic ring, such as a shower
curtain ring, two inches in
diameter. You may want to file a
groove into the stick where the
string attached to keep the string
from slipping.
The Ring and Stick Game is made out of willow, a plant native to
California and
used widely by the California Indians. Willow, when soaked in water,
has the ability
to bend easily. As you can see, the ring on the gaming stick is made
out of willow
which has been bent and wrapped with sinew (an animal's tendon;
that material
which attaches muscle to bone). The string is made out of milkweed,
a fibrous
plant native to California.