Learn Dominoes Tile Game

This Learn Dominoes lesson at Learn Skill Games program includes domino history, rules and strategies.
The first brush with a skill game most people experience is in the form of Dominoes.
After learning dominoes, one realizes the numerous possibilities and odds this game throws open. 

Learn Dominoes History
The name comes from the Latin ‘dominus’ which stands for ‘master.’ It arrived at this name via the French winter hoods and Venetian Carnival masks! The game however originated, like most of the non-card skill games in Asia. The first mention of dominoes or pips carved from bones is made in Mahabharata, the longest epic.
The present day version can be attributed to the Chinese who made it popular and standardized the game. The very popular skill game Mahjong also owes its invention to these dice variations.
The game was introduced and subsequently became popular in Europe in the 18th century. The US got its first taste of this skill game in the 1900s.

Domino Tiles
These days Dominoes are made from ivory, wood, synthetic material and ceramics. The modern version consists of tiles with all possible combinations of dice results, ranging from 0 to 6.
Different sets available commercially have different ranges with combinations going up to 18 with 190 tiles! Popular sets available commercially have 6, 9, 12, 15 and 18 double tiles. 
These are called double value tiles, for example, a 0 to 12 set of tiles would be called a double twelve, as the highest pip for this set would be 12 spots on both sides. The number of tiles in a set also varies with the highest valued pip.
Additionally, tiles or bones as they are popularly known take their names from the set of pips.
If a tile has 3 on one side and 6 on another, it's called a three– six. Tiles with the same number on both sides are called singles while those with different numbers are called doubles.
All tiles with a common end constitute a suit. Example: all tiles with 2 on one side would belong to the suit of 2. The rank is determined by the sum of pips. The higher the sum, the heavier the bone.

Learn Dominoes Rules
Dominoes is truly a game of skill and one that encourages lateral thinking. The goal of the game is simple. Get rid of all your tiles before the other players do. The winner collects as many points as the number of pips on the rest of the players left over tiles.
To begin, all tiles are shuffled, face down and every player picks 7 tiles. The player who gets the highest double tile starts the game. Play proceeds in one of the two ways:
1) After the first player smacks the bone down, the next player in the clockwise direction has to play a bone that matches one of the open ends of the tile played previously.
2) After the first player sets down a tile on the board, subsequent players have to play a tile that adds up the total of the open-ended pip and their tile total to a previously agreed sum.
For example, if the open end has 2 pips and the previously agreed sum is 9, then the next player has to play a 7.

Learn Dominoes Strategy
Players who do not have the matching tiles or the tile with the required number of pips for the sum total have to forfeit their chance. This is how one player gets advantage over the other players. Once, a player has used up all his tiles, the hand is concluded and it’s time for the second hand.
After each hand, the tiles are reshuffled and picked up by the winning team or player first, who then plays the first tile in the second hand.
This continues until the tiles are exhausted and there is a clear winner.
During the course of the play, players can choose to pick up tiles from the remaining tiles, also called the boneyard, if they want to match the tiles on board.
However, even if the new tile does not match, they have to keep it. In case of a tie, the first team in clockwise direction, counted from the first hand played wins. In case of teams, the team with the lowest score wins.

There are many other skill games besides dominoes that are a spin off or are played with dominoes. It is also played professionally and in tournaments and enjoys a special position amongst aficionados of skill games. More reasons to learn dominoes and play online!

Learn Dominoes is followed by Mahjong, another tiles skill game
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