Hacky Sack

Hacky Sack (also known as Hackey Sack) is the trademarked name of a type of footbag. The traditional game is played when two or more players stand in a circle and try to keep the sack (or footbag), off the ground. The game starts when one player picks up the sack and tosses it to the chest of another player, who allows it to fall to his feet so he can kick it, and play begins. Play continues until the sack falls to the ground, then a player picks up the sack and the game resumes. The object of the game is to keep the sack off the ground for as long as possible. If every player gets a touch to the sack before it hits the ground, it is called a 'hack'. If every player gets two touches before the sack hits the ground, it is called a 'double-hack' and so on and so forth. The name Hacky Sack has become a genericized trademark, and can refer to either the sack (or footbag) itself or a footbag game. Some common tricks include stalls, bag daggers, lifts, loops, ham spalts, and milk tosses. It was seen being played as far back as 1955 in the movie To Catch a Thief.

Footbag

A footbag is both a small, round bag, and the term for the various sports played with one – characterized by controlling the bag by using one's feet. Although often referred to generically as a Hacky Sack, that is the trademarked name of one specific brand.

Footbag-like activities have existed for many years. There are documented examples like Wu Style Tai Chi Chuan practice and policemen are seen playing it using a shuttlecock in the 1955 movie To Catch a Thief, but the current Western incarnation of the sport was invented in 1972 by Mike Marshall and John Stalberger of Oregon City, Oregon with the Hacky Sack, the rights to which are now owned by Wham-O.

Equipment

For circle kicking, it is very common to use a crocheted footbag, which is usually filled with plastic beads. Casually, footbags are often differentiated as normal (indicating a plastic-pellet filling), or as "dirt bags" or "sand hacks" (indicating a sand filling). Sand hacks are typically considered ideal among casual, beginning, or intermediate players, who use them as a learning tool, as they are easier to control and stall than a crocheted bag filled with plastic pellets.