Undated: (Osselets, a Traditional Haitian Children’s Game Played With Five Goat Knuckles, Similar to Jacks, With Roots Tracing to Ancient Greece and Rome, Pl…

Undated: (Osselets, a Traditional Haitian Children’s Game Played With Five Goat Knuckles, Similar to Jacks, With Roots Tracing to Ancient Greece and Rome, Played Across All Social Classes Though Wealthier Children Use Commercial Versions): Osselets is a children’s game played across Haiti with five goat knucklebones, a local variation of a game that traces back to ancient Greece and Rome. Up to four children play at a time, tossing a designated “ball” knuckle into the air while scooping up other bones from the ground, each of the four sides of the knuckle named and significant to the rules. The game has five rounds, each requiring a specific order and orientation of the bones, and a child must complete each round before advancing. It builds hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills, and it costs nothing, which matters in a country where public school athletic programs are underfunded. Wealthier children play with commercially produced plastic, wood, or metal versions of the pieces, but the game itself belongs to everyone. It is one of those traditions that circulates through Haitian childhood regardless of class, even as the materials reveal the class divide.