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Playing Dominos - How To Play - Rules For Some Domino Games |
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Dominos traditionally were carved in bone, ivory, or wood. The individual
piece is still referred to as a bone, tile, or stone. The term domino
technically refers to the game or set of pieces, not the individual piece.
The indentations in the bone are called pips. Following is a description of the bones, some rules on how to play some basic domino games. So have fun playing dominos. 
The bone has two sets of pips, one set on each end and the halves are
divided by a line. Traditional sets have from 0 to 6 pips on them and a
set consists of 28 bones, covering every possible combination of pips. A
doublet is a bone which has the same number of pips on both ends. A blank
refers to an end or bone with no pips. Double six refers to the highest
ranking bone in a set, which has two sets of six pips. And the term double
six also refers to a set of this type. Sets consisting of more bones are
also available. Double nines go up to nine pips and contain 55 bones and
double twelve’s go up to twelve pips and a set of these contains 91
bones. These sets are mainly made to accommodate larger numbers of
players as the traditional set will only allow about four people to play.A common set contains 28 bones in the following denominations: 6-6, 6-5, 6-4, 6-3, 6-2, 6-1, 6-0 5-5, 5-4, 5-3, 5-2, 5-1, 5-0 4-4, 4-3, 4-2, 4-1, 4-0 3-3, 3-2, 3-1, 3-0 2-2, 2-1, 2-0 1-1, 1-0 0-0 This includes every possible combination of two numbers, including blanks. A bone with matching dots on each end, example 5-5, is called 1 doublet. Each doublet belongs to a single suit, while the other bones belong to two suits. The end with the most dots on a bone is referred to as the heavier end, while the end with the least dots is called the lighter end. The bones are usually thick enough to stand on end and this is done in several of the games. The bones are stood vertically facing the player, away from the opponent, so each player can easily see the bones in their possession while hiding the face from their opponents view. There are many different games which may be played with the bones. The purpose of this article is not to go into the myriad rules of each and every domino game, but to briefly describe some of the game rules and how they are played. Draw Game This game is best for two players and may include three or four. This is the most common game and there are many variations. The dominos are shuffled; each player draws five bones and sets them on end. Leftover pieces go into the bone yard and are drawn by the players as play progresses. The player having the highest doublet begins play. The first bone played is called a set. The play passes to the left. The next player must match the pips on the set bone, example if player 1 set a 4-4, the next player must play a bone in the 4 suit, placing it adjacent to the one already in play. 
Doublets are placed crosswise to the other pieces and are "open", or
playable from each side. Non-doublet pieces are "open", or playable, on
the ends. If the player cannot match the bone on the table, he must draw from the bone yard until a matching bone is drawn. This piece is then played. The first player to run out of bones calls "domino" and play ends. The pips are added up from each of the opponents remaining bones and this score is what the winner receives. The first player to receive 50 points wins the game. There are many variations on the rules of this game. Muggins - variations include Sniff and All Fives Players - 2 - 4 This is a variation of the draw game with pretty much the same rules except this: If a player makes the two open ends of the layout total 5, they receive 5 points as in the illustration - The four on one open end and the one on the other total 5 - the player receives 5 points. The points scored in play are called Muggins points. If a player doesn’t notice that he has scored, another player may steal the points by calling "Muggins". This rule must be agreed upon in advance. 
There are other variations in this game. Scoring is a little different in this game. Play ends when one player goes Domino, or the bone yard is emptied and neither player can make a play. The player with the lighter hand wins. The winner receives the difference in the two hands taken to the nearest five. Example - if the player with the highest hand has 12 points when the winner went domino, the winner receives 10 points. If it had been 13, the winner would have received 15 points. If play had to stop due to no more possible plays and the winner had 6 points and the heavier hand had 19, then the difference would be 13 and the winner of the hand receives 15 points. Tiddly-Wink This game is for six to nine players. All players draw three bones and there is no bone yard. The player with the highest doublet sets it and play commences. Each player must play in turn, or pass. There is only one open end - the bone last played. Any player who plays a doublet may play again, if able. The player who goes domino wins the round. This is only three of many games which may be played with a set of dominos. There are very many more. And then there is the favorite children’s pastime - line them up on end and knock ‘em down. But who says this is just for kids? For a brief discussion of the history of dominos, visit this link. |