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An Easy Way to Play Dominoes

Dominoes originated in China during the 12th century, and they first came to Europe by way of Italy at the beginning of the 1700s. By the end of that century, the game of dominoes had become a popular pastime all over Europe; in fact, the name "domino" refers to cloaks worn by Christian priests at the time, which featured white dots on a black background that looked similar to the dots on the game pieces. The game of dominoes can vary greatly, depending on the rules. The easy way to play dominoes is among the most common way we all know and love.

Instructions

- 1
  Distribute seven dominoes to each player if its a two-player game, or five to each player if the game involves three or more players. The player with the highest double domino, the piece with the same number of dots (pips) on each side, begins the play by laying it on the table.
- 2
  Play rotates counter-clockwise to the next player. The player must either play a piece that has the same number of pips on at least one half, or draw dominoes from the pile until the player makes a match. When a match is found, the player lays it next to the piece on the table and creates a "T" shape.
- 3
  Continue playing in the same fashion, with each player matching the number of pips on at least one half of a domino to the piece on the table, or drawing from the pile until a match can be played. If the pile is empty, players must wait until their next turn to try to make a match. Dominoes can be arranged end to end or at right angles, so long as the matching halves touch. Players continue to lay pieces on the table until one player runs out of dominoes. The winning player's score is calculated by tallying the number of pips on the dominoes in the hands of the remaining players. Traditionally, games are played until a player scores 100 but any number can be set as the goal beforehand.

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