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May 23, 2004
By: David Sacco
Website: http://www.a1-in-toys.com
Dominoes from Ancient Egypt to Modern Day
Dominoes are small black and white tiles that have been
traditionally carved from ivory or bone with small round pips of
inset ebony. They have been played by kings and presidents,
and the oldest dominoes set dates back from 1120 AD. A set was
found in Tutankhamen's tomb, among the ruins of Thebes. The
word "domino" is a French word for a Christian priest's winter hood
which was black on the outside and white on the inside. It is
also a certain style of mask featuring a black and white motif.
The game appears to be a Chinese invention and derived from a pair
of cubic dice which had been brought to China from India. The
game made its first appearance in Italy after it found its way into
Europe in the early 18th century. It changed its translation from
Chinese to European culture. Chinese versions contains
two classes: military and civil and European versions did not.
European sets had seven additional pieces with six representing the
values that result from throwing a single die with the other half of
the tile left blank.
Dominoes can be played in many different styles. Some of
them include: The Block Game, The Draw Game, Five Up (Muggins),
Fives and Threes, Matador, Bergen, Flower and Scorpion, Train,
Chicken Foot, Nos, and Texas 42.
The draw game is the most common form to play. You start
with 28 pieces from double blank to double six. Place them
face down on the table and shuffle them until they are random.
Each person takes seven pieces and the player with the highest
double goes first. Lay down a domino with a similar value next
to the first piece, and make sure they are touching. Next pick
from the pile and if you don't have one that matches the ones on the
layout then keep it to yourself. You will pass if no more
pieces are left in the pile. The winner is the first person to
run out of dominoes. If everyone passes the winner is the
person with the lowest score, which is the one with the number of
dots on the tiles remaining in your hand. You also end the
game if someone reaches 50 points in a game with two players, or a
100 points in a game of three or more players . The lowest
score wins.
Amazon in collaboration with Toys R Us offers many different
sizes and styles of Dominoes at great and reasonable prices.
Some of them incude:
- Pavilion Double Fifteen Color Dot Dominoes in Color
Collectors: includes 136 pieces where each piece has from one to 15 color-coded dots on each end, or no dots (blank).
Made from a heavy white ivory like plastic and each piece is 2
inches long, 1 inch wide, and .3 inches thick. Also comes
with instructions for 20 different games.
- Simpson Dominoes: comes with a total of 28 pieces. The
pictures of various Simpsons characters are in place of the
traditional dots. They are made of heavy duty ceramic and
comes with a thin tin box similar to a lunch box and imprinted
with Simpsons art.
- Electronic Double Six Dominoes: now you can hold this game
in the palm of your hands. It is packed with a large
number of features, that include two different game modes, and
memory saving shut off functionality.
For more information on
Dominoes or to choose from a variety of related products
and services, select from the following:
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