About Dominoes

Dominoes is an ancient game that seems to have traveled the world because there are variations in just about every culture. Children play dominoes in math class when they are just being introduced to one-to-one correspondence, and adults play dominoes late into the night with friends. It doesn't take any real skill, so it is perfect for an evening where playing the game is really an excuse for a relaxing conversation.

The Facts

Dominos is a game where the pieces are connected if they have matching numbers of dots. The pieces are called bones and the dots are called pips. Each bone is divided into two sections. Each section contains between zero and six pips, and when both sections have the same number of pips, the bone is a doublet. The bones are shaped like rectangles and can stand up so that only one player can see how many pips are on each. This is like holding your cards "close to your chest" in a game of poker. The strategy only succeeds when the players hide their hands.

Size

European dominoes sets contain 28 bones, while Chinese ones contain 32 bones. Sets with larger numbers of bones can be obtained and are usually used to allow more than four players to join the same game. There are 28 different pairings of the numbers 0-6 so each bone in a set is unique. However, bones that share the same number belong to a suit. The value of a bone with more pips is heavier compared to a lighter bone with fewer pips.

Evolution

Dominoes used to be carved out of ivory, bone or wood. The first European bones were made from a sheet of ebony wood that was sandwiched, glued and pegged between two pieces of bone, one of which was carved so that the black wood could be seen through the pip holes. Now, in addition to wooden dominoes, molded plastic bones are inexpensive and quite common. Even cardboard bones can be found, making this game accessible to anyone.

History of

The most ancient dominoes set that still exists today was found in an Egyptian tomb dating from 1355 BC. In about 1120 AD, the game is mentioned in a Chinese text. Dominoes began to be played in Italy in the middle of the 1900s and spread throughout Europe when prisoners of war were released from captivity to go home to places like France and England. Even the arctic indigenous Inuit people carved and played dominoes. Their bones were made of ivory.

Identification

Domino Whist, Mexican Train, Matador and Muggins are different versions of the game of dominoes. Each version has its own rules. Some games permit the player a second turn after playing a doublet bone where the number of pips on each side is the same. Other games make players, who cannot play a bone from their hand, keep drawing new ones until they can play, but the first player to use every bone in her hand wins the hand. Then the pips that are in the losers' hands add up for the winner's score. Some games end at 50 points; other games end at 100 points.