Dominate the Dominoes (Dominoes)

Member Name: fuzzybear

Product:	Dominoes
Date:	22/01/08 (114 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Easy and different versions to play

Disadvantages: None really other than you cannot lose a piece

Dominoes is a wonderfully simple game to play and it is very good for teaching basic number work to children as well as planning a strategy, there are also a number of ways that you can play depending on, in the case of children their ability and knowledge of numbers.

Basically the game consists of a number of black tiles which are divided in half and each half will have a number value on it which is usually depicted by white spots although some of the versions for younger players use pictures and the actual number. The values on each half range from zero up to six and every combination of the two values is included once, so one piece has double six while another might have a two and a one.

There are a couple of versions of the game we play. For very young players each player takes seven tiles which they keep hidden and the remaining tiles stay face down, the first player to go must use a double tile (e.g. two threes) and then the next person places a tile with a three on it and so on, to go you must match the value on one end or the other of the row of tiles, if you cannot go you select a new tile and miss your go. The winner is the first one to place all their tiles. This teaches a number of skills to young players like adding to six, number recognition and a planning ahead your moves.

The second version I play is when you either amass points or move along a wooden wooden block with holes in it and a pin as your player. To move you earn points by adding up the end pieces, if the total is divisible by either five or three then you move that number. For example if the end pieces are one and five, then a total of six is divisible by three and you earn two points. The key is to try and make a total of fifteen, e.g double six at one end and a three at the other as this earns eight points in total. The first to get rid of their tiles also gets a bonus point.

This is a much more enjoyable version and can become quite competitive, anyone who has ever seen players from the Caribbean community playing in a pub will know what I mean, it relies on luck, strategy and the ability to add up and divide so is also good learning for children.

I do like dominoes as they are so flexible and easy to play and I'm sure other people have other ways of playing or adaptions of my own rules. It can also be used as part of a drinking game if that is your thing.

Summary: Good basic game.