Dominos, really that interesting?

liam1

Bronze
Jun 9, 2004
843
30
28
I have played domino twice and never lasted for more than 10 minutes. I find it very boring and mind-numbing to play a game where no skill nor intelligence is needed. Here in Santiago in the APT complex where i live there is one Dominican family living on the 1st floor and they play dominos at least 3 hours a day, every day. Friday and saturday from late afternoon till 2-3AM. Those are no kids but grown men in their 40s and 50s. They are playing as i am writing this, slamming the dominos on the table like someone's life depended on it. Is it purely Dominican thing or do some of you "gringos" play dominos as well? If it was chess or poker i could understand, but grown adults playing dominos for hours on end, and never get bored, CO?O!
 

dv8

Gold
Sep 27, 2006
31,266
363
0
I find it very boring and mind-numbing to play a game where no skill nor intelligence is needed.
my friend, you couldn't be more wrong. once you deal and put few pieces on the table a good player will be able to tell you what other players have. requires good memory and knowledge of strategy.
 

DR Mpe

Banned
Mar 31, 2003
1,191
36
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my friend, you couldn't be more wrong. once you deal and put few pieces on the table a good player will be able to tell you what other players have. requires good memory and knowledge of strategy.


U r probably right, I have even seen Domino championship on ESPN... BUT, without dispecting the domino-dominican brain, I do believe that priority #1 here is slamming and drinking beer:paranoid:
 

liam1

Bronze
Jun 9, 2004
843
30
28
dv8 i hope you are right and there is more than meets the eye. I have played it as i said twice, and the way it looked to me was very simple, of the 7 dominos you draw you are putting them on the table and making sure you are leaving the end open for yourself, so to explain. Still very boring. Not to be disrespectful to anyone, but i think on the box it should say "Ages: up to 13". Excuse my ignorance if i am missing the point. ;)
 
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Matilda

RIP Lindsay
Sep 13, 2006
5,485
338
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Excuse me. Dominos is a game of skill, stragegy. intelligence, cheating and drinking rum or beer. The slamming on the table means things to your partner!!! We paly it every night in my house, and it is well serious. People have been killed over dominos!!

If you think it is easy come to my house one night and I will thrash you!! BTW people play for eggs here!!

Matilda
 

dv8

Gold
Sep 27, 2006
31,266
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0
personally i do not play dominos. i totally lack ambition and i have no drive to win. i have, however, a huge admiration for dominicans who can hardly read or write yet they are able to predict with mathematical precision what other players have. hats off.
 

Facility

New member
Sep 3, 2008
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In Russia it's considered a quasiofficial pastime of blue-collar men, rather opposing the white-collar-associated chess. Lots of jokes connect domino with firefighters, who are supposedly playing away all the free time between calls and are considered superb at domino.
But jokes aside, finding a good understanding partner is even more important here than in a bridge game.
 

Hillbilly

Moderator
Jan 1, 2002
18,948
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Dominos uses 28 pieces. You get 7. theoretically, if you have the analytic skills you should know pretty much what people have after the first plays... It is a simple game with pretty basic strategies...

While the DR does have an international chess master, it has some of the best domino players in the world, as seen on ESPN...

However, the barrio versions, with drinking and slamming of pieces is low class...

During Easter Week, it is one of the pastimes most people take to the beach.

I agree, it is kinda boring except for the chatter and ribbing...

HB
 

mrchris74

New member
Mar 14, 2006
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Rules of the Game

What, specifically, are the rules and end goal of the game?

Here are the rules as explained to me in the campo 2 weeks ago:

1. All dominoes are placed face-down and shuffled with a great deal of exaggeration. Have a sip of beer.

2. All 4 players simultaneously grab 7 dominoes and place them on the edge of the table. There is a groove on the table for this purpose. Have another sip of beer.

3. The player to the left of the dealer plays either the 6/6 or another double domino. Play then commences in a counter-clockwise fashion. Take a drink.

4. Each player must match one of his/her dominoes to one side of the chain. If playing a double, it should be placed sideways so as to form a 'T' (however this does not constitute a 'split' of the chain as there are never more than 2 possible plays.)

a) If the player is not able to play he or she should say 'no voy' or simply tap a domino on the table 3 times. An expletive is optional though much appreciated. Take a drink.

b) All dominoes should be slammed on the table so as to make as much noise as possible without spilling another player's drink. Failure to do so will cause said player to be regarded as a sissy. This rule applies to both male and female players. Take a swig from a bottle of Don Rhon and wash it down with some beer.

5. The first player to run out of dominoes wins the game. If a player wins consecutive games or a majority of games he or she should be called out as a cheater, and told in no uncertain terms that if he continues cheating (or winning) he will have his lights punched out by the player seated to his right, or else the next drunkest person at the table. The tournament is over when a fight breaks out, or when one of the players passes out on the table.

Hope this helps.

Chris
 

DR Mpe

Banned
Mar 31, 2003
1,191
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48
Here are the rules as explained to me in the campo 2 weeks ago:

1. All dominoes are placed face-down and shuffled with a great deal of exaggeration. Have a sip of beer.

2. All 4 players simultaneously grab 7 dominoes and place them on the edge of the table. There is a groove on the table for this purpose. Have another sip of beer.

3. The player to the left of the dealer plays either the 6/6 or another double domino. Play then commences in a counter-clockwise fashion. Take a drink.

4. Each player must match one of his/her dominoes to one side of the chain. If playing a double, it should be placed sideways so as to form a 'T' (however this does not constitute a 'split' of the chain as there are never more than 2 possible plays.)

a) If the player is not able to play he or she should say 'no voy' or simply tap a domino on the table 3 times. An expletive is optional though much appreciated. Take a drink.

b) All dominoes should be slammed on the table so as to make as much noise as possible without spilling another player's drink. Failure to do so will cause said player to be regarded as a sissy. This rule applies to both male and female players. Take a swig from a bottle of Don Rhon and wash it down with some beer.

5. The first player to run out of dominoes wins the game. If a player wins consecutive games or a majority of games he or she should be called out as a cheater, and told in no uncertain terms that if he continues cheating (or winning) he will have his lights punched out by the player seated to his right, or else the next drunkest person at the table. The tournament is over when a fight breaks out, or when one of the players passes out on the table.

Hope this helps.

Chris


LOL. Very good. :)
 

corsair74

Bronze
Jul 3, 2006
1,330
116
0
Here are the rules as explained to me in the campo 2 weeks ago:

1. All dominoes are placed face-down and shuffled with a great deal of exaggeration. Have a sip of beer.

2. All 4 players simultaneously grab 7 dominoes and place them on the edge of the table. There is a groove on the table for this purpose. Have another sip of beer.

3. The player to the left of the dealer plays either the 6/6 or another double domino. Play then commences in a counter-clockwise fashion. Take a drink.

4. Each player must match one of his/her dominoes to one side of the chain. If playing a double, it should be placed sideways so as to form a 'T' (however this does not constitute a 'split' of the chain as there are never more than 2 possible plays.)

a) If the player is not able to play he or she should say 'no voy' or simply tap a domino on the table 3 times. An expletive is optional though much appreciated. Take a drink.

b) All dominoes should be slammed on the table so as to make as much noise as possible without spilling another player's drink. Failure to do so will cause said player to be regarded as a sissy. This rule applies to both male and female players. Take a swig from a bottle of Don Rhon and wash it down with some beer.

5. The first player to run out of dominoes wins the game. If a player wins consecutive games or a majority of games he or she should be called out as a cheater, and told in no uncertain terms that if he continues cheating (or winning) he will have his lights punched out by the player seated to his right, or else the next drunkest person at the table. The tournament is over when a fight breaks out, or when one of the players passes out on the table.

Hope this helps.

Chris

Wow. This is almost exactly how we play in the states. However, in addition to being the first one to play all of your dominos, we try to score points by laying out the dominos so that the ends equal a multiple of five. And the first one to reach a predetermined score wins. It adds an additional competitive element to the game.

Interesting. I've never attempted to join a domino game in the DR because I thought that the rules they follow were different from what I'm used too.

Now that I know better, I'll have to join a few. I used to see a group of oldtimers playing outside of a colmado around the corner from the apartment I was renting in Santiago. I've been playing this game ever since I've been old enough to multiply. And I'm sure that I could at least give a good account of myself, if not run the table.


Vince.
 

whirleybird

Silver
Feb 27, 2006
3,264
322
83
Here are the rules as explained to me in the campo 2 weeks ago:

1. All dominoes are placed face-down and shuffled with a great deal of exaggeration. Have a sip of beer.

2. All 4 players simultaneously grab 7 dominoes and place them on the edge of the table. There is a groove on the table for this purpose. Have another sip of beer.

3. The player to the left of the dealer plays either the 6/6 or another double domino. Play then commences in a counter-clockwise fashion. Take a drink.

4. Each player must match one of his/her dominoes to one side of the chain. If playing a double, it should be placed sideways so as to form a 'T' (however this does not constitute a 'split' of the chain as there are never more than 2 possible plays.)

a) If the player is not able to play he or she should say 'no voy' or simply tap a domino on the table 3 times. An expletive is optional though much appreciated. Take a drink.

b) All dominoes should be slammed on the table so as to make as much noise as possible without spilling another player's drink. Failure to do so will cause said player to be regarded as a sissy. This rule applies to both male and female players. Take a swig from a bottle of Don Rhon and wash it down with some beer.

5. The first player to run out of dominoes wins the game. If a player wins consecutive games or a majority of games he or she should be called out as a cheater, and told in no uncertain terms that if he continues cheating (or winning) he will have his lights punched out by the player seated to his right, or else the next drunkest person at the table. The tournament is over when a fight breaks out, or when one of the players passes out on the table.

Hope this helps.

Chris

I will check with Matilda as to the accuracy and validity of your very interesting explanation of the Dominican game of dominoes...... :bunny:
 

mrchris74

New member
Mar 14, 2006
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0
I will check with Matilda as to the accuracy and validity of your very interesting explanation of the Dominican game of dominoes...... :bunny:


I should've been more clear. These are not the official 'acording to Hoyle' rules of the Dominican game, but rather a general outline as demonstrated to me by 2 friends and a beer-swilling 12-year-old boy in the campo 'Los Aquayo' (outside San Francisco de Macoris) about a week or so ago.

To answer the OP, the game did seem a bit elementary at first, but the more I played it, the more I realized that there is a lot more going on than you think. Ok it isn't chess, but its a lot more difficult than your average drinking game (for example bouncing quarters into a cup.) Its actually a bit like poker, in that you spend most of your time analyzing the plays of your opponents.

HB is right in saying 'except for the chatter and ribbing'. Ive played basketball on the streets of New Orleans and I've never heard trash-talk like that in any language.

And, while certain aspects of my description may seem exaggerated, on both nights the games ended with someone's head face down on the domino table.

YCMV = Your Campo May Vary

Chris
 

suarezn

Gold
Feb 3, 2002
5,823
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Just like there are different card games, there are many different ways to play Dominos too. The multiples of five mentioned above is just one. I guess is what you grow up with, because I find cards (Poker, eucre, etc...) extremely boring, yet my wife's family spend hours on ends playing for nickels.