An old name for a game of
jacks. Dibstones (Or
dib stones) is also called
Jackstones,
Fivestones,
Hucklebones,
Knucklebones,
Checkstones,
Dibbs or
Dallies, depending on what part of
Britain you were from. This term was probably in use starting in the 1500s, and lasting on up to the late 1800s. The rules are the same as
jacks.
No one knows where the American word dibs comes from. Dibstones is a likely source, but no one knows how the British 'dibs' (the stones used for dibstones) became the American slang term 'dibs', to claim a share of something.