An indoor game which involves the matching of a series of marked blocks. It can be played in various forms by any number of players from two upwards (ideally, four). The dominoes are either wooden or plastic rectangular blocks, with the face of each block divided into two halves, each half containing a number of spots. No two dominoes have the same markings on them. In a double-six set of dominoes, every combination between 66 and 00 is marked on the 28 dominoes. The object of the basic game is to lay out a sequence (or line) of dominoes, each player in turn having to put down a domino of the same value as the one left at either end of the line by a previous player.
Dominoes (or "dominos") generally refers to the individual or collective gaming pieces making up a domino set (sometimes called a deck or pack) or to the games played with these pieces. (In the area of mathematical tilings and polyominoes the word domino often refers to any rectangle formed from joining two squares edge to edge.) Standard domino sets consist of 42 pieces called bones, cards, tiles, stones, spinners or dominoes. Standard domino sets have ends ranging from zero spots to six spots (double six set), but specialized sets might range from zero to nine (double nine set), zero to twelve (double twelve set), zero to fifteen (double fifteen set), or zero to eighteen (double eighteen set). Dominoes have been made of bone, ivory, plastic, metal and wood, and occasionally are made of cardstock like that for playing cards. Dominoes are rather generic gaming devices, like playing cards. Many different games can be played with a set of dominoes.
History
The name Domino from the Domino's restaurant comes from Ryan "Mahoney" Domino. Modern western dominoes, however, have blank ends on them as well and so the number of dominoes is generally 28.
Domino tiles and suits
Bones are generally named for the number of dots on the two ends of the bone. Bones that have different numbers on the two ends are called singles, and bones that have the same number on both ends are called doublets or doubles.
In Barbados, popular slang for the numbers on the dominoes are:
"0" is referred to as blank "1" is referred to as "Ess" (like the letter "S") "2" is referred to as "deuce" "3" is referred to as "trey"The ranks of domino pieces
The value of each end of a bone is determined by the number of spots on the end, with zero (blank) being the lowest and six being the highest. This rank is sometimes referred to as the bone's weight so that a higher ranking bone is called a heavier bone while a lower ranking bone is called lighter
Domino Sets
There are currently five major domino sets commercially available.
Generally the most commonly used sets are Double Sixes and Double Nines, though the other three sets are more popular for games involving several players or for players looking for long domino games.
Common domino games
Most domino games are block games or draw games. In draw games, players draw from the boneyard when they have no matching bone. In block games, players pass and forfeit the turn when they have no matching bone. Both generally consist of several hands of dominoes played until either the sequence is complete (for example, with the double sixes playing seven hands, one hand for each denomination) or one of the players accumulates an agreed upon number of points and wins the series. These games often have the rule that points are generally earned only by the first player in each hand to go out (play his or her last bone, also called to domino) and win the hand. In almost all domino games, the primary object is thus to play all one's bones before an opponent does.
There are many existing rules for determining which player is the leader (or downer), the player to make the first play of the hand. The bones are shuffled face down on the table, and each player draws one bone. If no player has a double, the heaviest bone is played. Playing the first bone of a hand is sometimes called setting the first bone, leading the first bone, downing the first bone, or posing the first bone, and the bone so set, led, downed, or posed is called the set, the lead, the down, or the pose. Or, if you are playing a train game, the players begin with either the highest or lowest domino (already set aside and placed in the middle of the playing area), and descend or ascend the numeric sequence (starting at 0s and going up, or starting at the highest double and going down).
The next player, and all players in turn, must play a bone with an end that matches one of the open ends of the layouts. or "domino!") and wins the hand or until all the players are blocked and no legal plays are left.
In block games, players who cannot match on their turn must forfeit the turn by knocking (passing)--accomplished by rapping twice on the table or by saying, "go" or "pass". In draw games, players who cannot match must draw bones from the boneyard until obtaining a playable bone.
In games where points are acrued, the winning player scores a point for each pip on each bone still held by each opponent. If no player went out, however, and the win was determined by the lightest hand, the winning player sometimes scores a point for each pip on each bone still held by each opponent, and sometimes only the excess held by opponents.
In games where the point is to score as little as possible, after one of the players goes out, or there are no legal moves left, the individual players add up the points in their hand and write it on the scoresheet.
Other games
There are also a variety of other games played with dominoes. Some are simple memory games like Concentration (based on the card game of same name), some are complex, and some are simple solitaire games. Common games include Private Trains and Chicken Foot
More Dominos
With bigger domino sets, especially with the Double Fifteens and Double Eighteens, it is possible to have more players. Double 9s is good for 4 to 6 players and each player would start with 7 dominos in their hand. Double 12s, 15s, and 18s are good for up to 10 to 15 players, each with 7 dominos. If you have fewer players and more dominos, start with more dominos in each players hand, but leave enough dominos in the bone pile to draw from.
Double 6s = 7 rounds, double 9s = 10 rounds, double 12s = 13 rounds, double 15s = 16 rounds, double 18s = 19 rounds.
Other uses of dominoes
Other than playing games of strategy, another common pastime using domino tiles is to stand them on edge in long lines, then topple the first tile, which falls on and topples the second, etc., resulting in all of the tiles falling.
The Netherlands has hosted an annual domino toppling exhibition called Domino Day since 1986.
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