Jack Straws
BGG rank
BGG #31,297
BGG rating
4.8

Jack Straws

1888Powered by BGG

Rules assistance for Jack Straws

Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with saved question history.

  • 10 min
  • 6+
  • Complexity 1.0/5

Rules assistant for Jack Straws

What would you like to know?

Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.

Jack Straws is a board game released in 1888 for 2–5 players, 10 minutes per game, and ages 6 and up.

About the game

A pile of plastic or wood objects (axes, rifles, brooms, crutches etc.) are dumped on the table. Players use metal hooks to extract an object from the pile, without moving any other items. If they succeed they keep the item and try again. If they move any object other than the one they attempt to pull out, their turn is over, and then it is the next players turn. The winner is the person with the most items, once there are none left in the pile.

Editions

  • Zoltar's Arcade Jack StrawsENBell and Curfew2014
  • Jack StrawsENRetro Range Toys and Games2010
  • Jack StrawsENParker Brothers1974
  • Jack StrawsENMilton Bradley1938
  • Old Fashioned Jack StrawsENMcLoughlin Brothers1888
  • Jack StrawsENMilton Bradley1888
  • American Jack StrawsENMilton Bradley1888
  • Royal Jack StrawsENMilton Bradley
  • Jack StrawsENMerit
  • American Jack StrawsENMilton Bradley
  • Jack StrawsENParker Brothers
  • The Game of Jack StrawsENParker Brothers

Publishers

  • (Unknown)
  • Parker Brothers
  • Waddingtons
  • N.W. Damm & Søn (Damm)
  • Milton Bradley
  • Peter Pan Playthings
  • Merit
  • McLoughlin Brothers

Questions and answers

Jack Straws supports 2–5 players according to the catalogue. This range comes from the publisher’s listed player count, so the game can be set up for any group size within it. Some setups, rules and scoring details may still vary by player count, so check your edition’s rulebook for the exact configuration.