Native American
Stick Game
Author: Roberto Wheaton
Session Goals
Present the fundamentals of Native
American Stick Game
Appreciate and describe how probability
a role in Native American Stick Game
Create a scoring key
Investigate how other Native
American games use probability
Narrative
Historically gaming has been a part of Native American
culture for generations dating back hundreds of years.
Stick Game is played by Native American’s in the
western two-thirds of North America. With slight
variations in hand gestures it is a game of chance or
intuition that involves placing side bets and wagering
pots of money or goods as grand prize.
Traditionally, stick game was played as an ice breaker
between tribes with waged items like horses, skins, food
as prizes. Today Native American’s continue the Stick
game tradition at Pow Wows with wagered pots in the
thousands of dollars.
Native American Stick Game Rules
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The goal is to identify or guess the correct position of
female (plain) bones using hand signals.
Each time a guesser is correct his/her team wins a
counting stick.
When he/she guesses incorrectly the team must give up
a stick.
The team who wins all the sticks is the winner and takes
home all the waged goods and money in the pot.
Materials
Stick game pieces
Kicker Stick
Bones
Counting
Sticks
Bones
Counting
Sticks
Physical Set Up
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The Stick game is played by standing or sitting
in rows across an open area five or six feet
wide. Each team assigns a leader who will
appoint members to point or hide the bones.
Leader
Leader
Stick game photo
Group Role
The group role is to distract the opposing
team by singing songs, beating drums or
sticks.
Individual Role
Each team will decide on a leader who will also serve as
pointer (guesser) and decide who will hide the bones on
each side.
The team with the bones will have two people hiding
bones in their hands using a covering or behind the
back.
When the pointer is ready to guess
he/she yells out “Ho” and gives
a hand signal.
Materials Hand Signals
male
Bone Arrangement
female
Hand Gesture
Description
Thumb and index finger
outstretched, other
fingers flexed
Hand edgewise down the
middle
Index finger pointed to
the right
Index finger pointed to
the left
Stick Game Rules
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3.
4.
5
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8
The goal of the game is to win all the sticks by guessing the correct position of the
plain (female ) bone combinations.
To start the game each team will be given a plain (female) and marked bone.
Each team will select a guesser and hider.
The first team to identify the plain (female) hand position will start the game as the
hiding team.
The guesser must identify the correct position of the plain (female) bone
combination in order to gain a stick and bone sets.
Each incorrect guess will result in giving up one stick to the other team.
The guessing team will continue to guessing until correct.
Correct guess will result in the transfer of one stick and both bone sets.
The team that earned all the sticks is the winner.
Scoring Key
Using the information from this game.. Create a scoring key that
shows the probability of guessing the correct female bone locations.
Guesses Kicker
Team
Team
Probability Worksheet
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After playing the game come with a
worksheet that shows the probability
involved in this game.
Questions
1. How does chance play a role in this game?
2. What is the probability of one guesser of
being 100 percent correct?
3. How do the counting sticks add to the
probability of winning this game.
Additional Research
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Research other cultural games for
probability
Create your own game with natural
materials.
Compare and Contrast Stick with Plum
Stone game.