Children's Crafts

Games

Double-Six Dominoes

1. Turn all dominoes face down, then mix.

2. Each player draws five dominoes and stands them on edge before him so that his opponents cannot see his domino faces. The remaining dominoes become the boneyard (or draw pile). Play moves to the left.

3. Each domino is divided into two parts, or ends, each containing a set of spots. A double domino contains matching ends (6-6, 5-5, etc.), and the player who draws the highest double domino places it in the center of the table to begin the game. If no double was drawn, all dominoes are returned to the draw pile, reshuffled, and redrawn.

4. The second player then tries to match one of his dominoes to one end or side of the double. For example, if the first domino played is a double four, the second player may add any one of his dominoes containing four spots on one end.

5. The next player may play to the double four, or he may try to match the end of the second domino played. Blanks match other blanks.

Only one domino may be played at each turn. Dominoes are placed lengthwise rather than at right angles, except in the case of a double, where the same number can be played at the middle (lengthwise) or at the end.

If a player cannot match the spots at any open end of a row, he must draw from the boneyard until he is able to do so. Should he draw the last domino and still not be able to play, he passes and then tries again on his next turn.

A player must play a domino if he is able to do so. Doubles are always laced crosswise to the end they match, thereby giving two new directions in which to place dominoes.

Play continues until one player has used all of his dominoes or until no one can play. If no further plays can be made, and all dominoes have been drawn, the player with no dominoes, or with the last number of points (spots) on his remaining dominoes, wins the round. He subtracts the total f his points from the total of each of his opponents' points and scores the balance of points from each. Rounds continue until one player scores 100 points. The game is won by the first person to score 100 or more points.