by Mike Jones
Getting the best sets of dominoes is a whole lot of work. It is an interesting game, only with the right sets. Peradventure you are new to the game, you might want to know what it entails: Domino game is usually played with small tiles separated into sides with thin lines.
Some of the tiles have black dots, while some are blank. Is it fun and interesting?
Absolutely yes! You can play it with your family and friends. There are different sets of dominoes, but you don't have to worry about choosing the best. We have taken it upon ourselves to screen different sets based on durability and quality. Considering playability, they have also been tested. With this article, I bet you can't go wrong in making your choice. Check them out!
Contents
It is made of high-quality material, colorful pips, with large tiles. These features made handling easy for both adults and kids. It consists of 55 tiles with 11 spinners. Easy to play for all ages, and it's fun when played with kids. The tiles are perfect for playing traditional dominoes games as well as knock-over. This is because of the tile's thickness and durability. The pips are colored to differentiate them from the tiles. Also, they are wide, which makes them easy to read. The durability is low compared to other options available in the market now.
Pros
Cons
It is made up of 28 tiles with large and easy-to-read pips. It is classy and yet consists of the essential features in a traditional set of dominoes. It is resistant to wear and tear. This set of dominoes are well built with lightweight, which makes it easy to handle. It comes with a transport case which closes easily. The case is highly durable. These features make it the perfect set to carry along while going on a vacation, trips, etc.
Pros
Cons
With these sets, you tend to have the maximum traditional experience. Its design is simple with large, easy-to-read pips. It comes with a wooden box in which you can keep your Dominoes for a longer time. The case also makes movement easier as you can carry it anywhere with ease. Shuffling and spinning are made easy because the tiles have a metal spinner at the center.
Pros
Cons
Looking for a pocket-friendly set with high quality? Here it is! This set comes with a nice design that is easy to read. Despite the price, it's still durable. The tiles have large colored pipes which can be read easily by anyone. The tiles are not large enough, but it doesn't affect the playability. This set of Dominoes consist of the necessary pieces needed for the Mexican Train game.
Pros
Cons
The set was among our top picks due to its uniqueness. Most tiles come with pips, but on the other hand, this came with numbers. It has a zipper bag made of Nylon where the dominoes can be kept. This makes it portable. The numbers on the tiles are large, which makes it glaring for the player. Also, below the number six is a line that differentiates it from the number nine. In this set are pieces needed to play Mexican Train. The set also features a hub and eight trains. In comparison, other sets consist mostly of four trains. A little hitch about this set is that the tiles are too small to fit into the hubs. This is because the hub's construction is for standard-size dominoes.
Pros
Cons
This is the best based on research. The dominoes set comes with colorful and legible pips. Durable tiles, portable storage tin, and pieces needed to play Mexican train are some of the great features found in the sets. The tiles are made of high quality. The pips are colored based on the number of dots. The eye-catchy collector tin made storage easier as it kept the dominoes in shape for some time. This feature made it the best.
Pros
Cons
Of course, there are other sets of dominoes for sale out there, but the ones above were selected based on:
Quality
This refers to the materials they are made of. Most of the modern sets consist of tiles made of plastic. The old-fashioned were made of ivory. We check if the materials could stand the test of time.
We ensure that the top picks consist of legible pips. This makes it easy for players of different ages to read. Also, a check was made to see if the paint on the pips aligned well with the tiles. All these affect playabilities.
We have the interest of newbies at heart. Therefore, we ensure that some of the top pick comes with instructions. Also, pieces for other game modes will make both old and new players explore.
Proper knowledge about the sets of dominoes gives maximum pleasure. You have to consider the following when getting your dominoes.
These include the materials the tile is made of, size, and number. All these features are essential. The quality of the materials determines their durability. Each set has a different number of tiles, and this determines the number of players. You also need to get familiar with the name of each set, such as double six (comes with 28 tiles), double nine (with 55 tiles), etc. The names also indicate the largest value in the set. The size of the tiles depends on whether you want the dots to be seen clearly or not and for convenient transportation. To make shuffling easier, ensure it has spinners or pins in the middle.
You have to choose the case material based on your preference. Mostly, Domino's sets are packaged with either wooden or metal cases. Both serve the same purpose. The wooden case (e.g., club Alex) is old-fashioned yet quality. If you want something classy, you go for the metal case (e.g., Double nine dominoes sets).
Each case differs in weight and dimension. Dominoes can be played both indoor and outdoor. Therefore how heavy or big the set is a factor, you should consider. Your choice should be based on convenience. Of course, dominoes sets can be carried along while going on vacation, Trips, etc. But a lightweight set is preferable for this purpose. Heavy sets are best for indoor use.
This is a major factor. Your budget determines the set you will purchase. Modern sets are somewhat cheaper but yet vary in price. In making your choice, you have to go with the one with the desired quality and the size of your pocket.
Apart from the tiles and cases, some dominoes set also comes with extra items such as spinners, making the tiles move faster without slipping over each other. The expensive ones come with a cribbage board, scoring sheet, instructions, and also warranty. You should also consider this in making your choice.
The Regal game double 12 sets are the best. It has virtually all the qualities needed in a set. If you are mindful of the price, you can go for the double six sets.
Yes! As long as you desire to play it. It comes with instructions that consist of the rules and regulations which will guide you on how to play.
The sets come in different colors combinations. Mostly, the sets come with black dominoes and white pips. Sometimes, white dominoes with black pips. All these are to ensure easy readability.
It depends on the type of sets you purchase. Some come with a casing that has protective features. This will help to keep the accessories in good order and also easy to carry. The Chh Double Six Sets of Dominoes, along with a few, is perfect for this.
Dominoes Sets | Number of Tiles | Number of Pips |
Double 6 | 28 | 168 |
Double 9 | 55 | 495 |
Double 12 | 91 | 1092 |
Double 15 | 136 | 2040 |
Double 18 | 190 | 3420 |
Keeping the tiles clean is not stressful. You can do that in the following ways.
1. Clean with baking powder and clean cloth
2. By rubbing the tiles with alcohol
3. Fill a large bowl with warm water, then add a few drops of dish soap. Rub the tiles in water with a sponge to remove the dirt. Remove from the water, place it in a colander, then run water through the dominoes to remove sticky dirt. Finally, clean it with a towel to dry off the water.
Tips: Do not wash tiles with hot water; rather, wash with warm/cool water.
You can go for the set that comes with the case, hub, and trains.
The sets are not restricted to one game. You can play different games with the dominoes sets. This is to tell you that it isn't a boring game. Below are some of the games you can play with the sets
Most people refer to this game when dominoes are mentioned. The game is played by players shuffling the dominoes and holding the tiles in their hands. The remaining tiles are shared among the players till none is left. The player with the highest number of tiles plays first while the others add an open-end layout. They can make it follow any direction. The player that is unable to play draws a Domino until he can play. The winner is the player with the lowest number of pips on the dominoes.
The game is played with a double-six set for 2 to 4 players. It is a small, simple game. The players pick the dominoes and keep the others aside. Then, lay tiles on the open end layout turn by turn. The dominoes with the same number of pips are connected. When the game is blocked, or the dominoes have been exhausted, the round is over. The pips are counted.
In this game, players try to exhaust their tiles. The dots on the tiles in the hand of the players are added up to determine the scores.
It is often played with double-six dominoes. This creates a seven rounds game. The player gets five random dominoes. Players get rid of the high dominoes they have. This is done to increase their chances of not recording a higher score at the end of the game. The number of players can be increased by making use of either double-nine or double-twelve sets.
This game is played between 4 to 7 players. The players try to build trains of Dominoes from the center of the table. In an attempt to play all the dominoes, players move towards the left one after the other. They move either on their train or that of the other players. This is done in rare cases. The players build the train as long as they can. The train sometimes bends to maintain its position on the table. Points are awarded based on the number of pips on the remaining dominoes in their hands.
It is played with a double-nine set alongside 11 other tiles. The tiles are added to the spinner symbol and double spinner symbol tile. The players start with a double spinner or the double nine tiles after drawing out their tiles. The second and third players then matched the played Domino with the nine tiles or spinner. Another Domino is drawn when a player can't play. If the Domino matches, it is then played. The following round begins with double 8, double seven until double 0 is played.
The game is played with either the double-nine or double-twelve set of dominoes. The smaller sets can be utilized depending on the number of players. Each player is given a set amount of dominoes depending on the number of players. The player with the highest double begins the game, and the play is continued counterclockwise. In the first round, the players play double, which acts as the engine. The players play the double if it circulates; if not, the game is stopped. The person who exhausted the dominoes has the lowest number of pips on the dominoes remaining in his hand.
The goal here is to exhaust all Dominoes. Players begin with a hand of dominoes while others are kept in the boneyard. It is played by end-to-end matching of dominoes. Sometimes, it is based on scoring a point. It is played by making the pips on the layout end equal to one multiple 5. Point is also earned when players play Dominoes, whose open ends sum up to a multiple of 5. More points are earned with a great multiple of 5. Players that can't play draw dominoes until the right one is taken for play.
Tips: Boneyard is the pile of Dominoes placed upside-down, which are yet to be used.
It is similar to the Draw game. Here, the competition is based on getting the same suits at the layout end. It is the criteria for scoring points. The remaining dominoes are kept in the boneyard. Players unable to play from the dominoes in their hands are allowed to draw out from it. Dominoes are added to the layout till the one that matches is played. Then, a score is won. The game comes to an end when a player has already exhausted his dominoes. Players compete till 15 points are won. There is an extra point for a player with the smallest number of pips on the remaining dominoes at hand.
The goal here is to score up to 7 marks or 250 points. Multiple hands are played in this game. If the competition is based on marks, then 13 players are the maximum. The players bid before every hand is played. Tricks performed by a team earn them a point. If the team reached the contract, the players earned the bid at the beginning. Inability to reach the contract by a team earns the opponent a score. Thereby making the team lose a point.
What if a partner is not available? This game is for you! The game is played by placing the dominoes face down. Three pieces are faced up and arranged in a row. The player draws out the middle tiles. If the two tiles at the end of the layout have the same number, merge them. The vacant spot is then filled with another Domino drawn. The game ends when the tiles in the middle aren't surrounded by tiles having similar numbers. If all three tiles have the same numbers, the players can clear all from the table. You can also set up the tiles in a pyramid and move the tiles around as they flip. Thereby playing off that shape.
There are other games you can play with Dominoes. The ones above are some of the popular ones.
Playing dominoes helps in developing cognitive skills in Children. It is one of the best ways to teach them mathematics topics like multiplication. With this game, they get to know how to count better. It also helps to develop their sense of reasoning, recognition of patterns, etc.
With a simple, quality set of dominoes, your potential game repertoire can really soar into the dozens. That's because there are scores of different games you can play with these simple block tiles, from games like Block Dominoes and Tiddly Wink to favorites like Concentration and Castle Rock dominoes.
In this article we will explain some of the rules, game play and styles of each of these games as we explore the many games to play with a set of dominoes.
A game that is designed for two to four players, the game of Block Dominoes typically requires just a double-six set of the tiles, although larger sets can be used to support more players in the game. Also known as the "Block Game," Block Dominoes is the easiest to learn and play of all the domino games and the most familiar game to most people. Because of this, many other forms of dominoes, including "Draw," have been created using this game as the foundation.
To begin a game of Block Dominoes, the tiles are shuffled very well and each player in the game will draw tiles to make up their hand. The exact number of tiles each player will draw will depend on the number of players in the game. When playing this game one-on-one (between 2 players), each player will draw seven tiles to begin the game. However, when playing among three or four players, each player will draw five tiles. After the tiles have been drawn, the remaining dominoes are left off to the side face down. These make up what is known as the boneyard in Block Dominoes (although they will not be used in this particular version of the game).
In Block Dominoes, the player with the highest double places the first domino. Play then proceeds to the next player in a clockwise direction. If possible, each player then adds a domino to one of the open ends of the layout by matching the number on the tile. The layout may flow in any direction, turning as necessary. A player that cannot make a move must pass. In the block game, players may not draw tiles from the boneyard. The game ends when one player uses the last domino in his hand, or when no more plays can be made. If all players still have tiles in their hand, but no moves can be made, then the game is said to be "blocked."
Just as in many card games, the player with the lightest hand (the lowest number of dots on their remaining dominoes-if any) is declared the winner of that round. He/she wins the total number of points on their opponent's dominoes, minus the points in their own hand. For instance, if a player uses all his dominoes, he will win the total number of points that his opponents are holding. If the game is blocked, and each player has one domino left in their hand, the person with the lowest point total on that domino is the winner. Let's say the winner has a domino with the numbers 2-0, and his opponent has the 5-3 domino, the winner would win 8 points minus the 2 points on his domino, for a total of 6 points. Play can continue in Block Dominoes until a pre-determined score, usually 100 is attained by one of the players.
Tiddly Wink Dominoes is a game that is best played with a lot of participants, usually 6-9. The game requires one double-six set of dominoes.
Tiddly-Wink is a variation of Block Dominoes, and plays the same except that a player playing a double may play another tile before ending his turn. It is also very similar to the domino game Tiddle-a-Wink, which characteristically uses a double-nine domino set. The game starts after the dominoes have been shuffled and after each player draws three tiles to make up their hand. The remainder of the tiles remains in the boneyard and is not used, just as in Block Dominoes.
As with the last game we reviewed, in Tiddly Wink Dominoes the player holding the highest double places the first domino. From there, each player must either play or pass in the same way described earlier, and tiles may not be drawn from the boneyard.
There is only one open end in Tiddly Wink, the end on the last tile played. Anyone playing a double (including the first tile of the hand), may play again if they are able. Playing a tile after a double is not mandatory - the player may pass if he wishes. As with Block Dominoes, game play proceeds in a clockwise (left) direction. A "hand" of Tiddly Wink Dominoes ends either when a player plays all of his tiles, or when a game is blocked, at which time the lightest hand wins. The game is often played as a wagering-style game, one in which each player places a bet before the start of a hand; and the winner gets to take the pot (like in poker).
Do you remember playing the game called Concentration or Memory Match when you were a child? If so, Concentration Dominoes should sound very familiar to you. Concentration Dominoes is played among 2 or more players. It can be played with a double-six set of dominoes, but larger sets can be used when playing with a large number of participants.
As we mentioned, Concentration Dominoes is very similar to the Concentration card game of yore. It's a very simple domino game, and requires little planning or strategy, but a good memory definitely helps.
To start a game of Concentration Dominoes, shuffle the tiles thoroughly and then arrange them into a 4 x 7 grid-four columns, seven rows. In this game, the players do not have hands, but play from the tiles on the table. In turns, each player turns over two dominoes. If the dots on the two tiles add up to 12, the player who uncovered them will remove them from the grid, set them aside, and take another turn. If the two dominoes do not add up to 12, that player must turn them back over, and play passes to the next player. The game continues until all the tiles have been matched, or until one player reaches 50 points (tiles).
Castle Rock Solitaire is a one-player game that is played in much the same way as the card game solitaire, only with tiles instead of cards. To begin the game, start by turning all the tiles face-down and shuffle them thoroughly. Next, draw three tiles and place them face-up, in a row. If the first and third tiles share a common number, then remove the middle tile, consolidate the existing tiles, and draw another tile and place it at the right end of the row.
With each new turn, you will repeat this process, and whenever a single tile is surrounded by two tiles sharing the same number, remove it. If you end up with three tiles in a row containing the same number, you have the option of either removing the center one, or removing all three. If you work your way thru the deck and manage to remove all the tiles from the tableau, you win. The game is very similar to the card solitaire game known as "Accordion."
Draw is another game that is very similar to Block Dominoes, the first game we reviewed in this article. The difference between Block Dominoes and Draw, however, is that instead of using just the tiles in your hand (seven tiles for a 2-player game and five tiles for 3 or more players), players may draw from the boneyard if they do not have a tile to play from their hand. In all other respects, the game proceeds just like Block Dominoes, with the winner being the first player to get rid of all their dominoes.
Scoring in Draw dominoes is also the same as with Block dominoes, with the player having the lightest hand being the winner. The winning player receives the sum of the total of all the other players' dominoes minus the total he is holding. The score is recorded and the game continues until one player has amassed a pre-determined score, usually 100.
The games explained above are just some of the great games you can play with dominoes. Others include games like Cross-a game played like draw in which tiles must be played on both ends and both sides so that it forms a five-domino cross before any other dominoes can be played; Muggins-a unique form of dominoes in which a player can score off of an opponent who misses a score simply by calling out "muggins"; Bingo Dominoes, in which the object of the game is to be the first player to score seven sets; Chicken Foot, in which the goal of the game is to get the least possible amount of points-All Fives, Mexican Train Dominoes, Pai Gow Dominoes and more.
Regal Games Double 12 Colored Dot Dominoes Mexican Train Game Set with Wooden Hub, 91 - Walmart Link
Premium Set of 55 Double Nine Dominoes with Wood Case, Brown - Walmart Link
Double Six Professional Dominoes - White with Black Dots, Case Color May Very - Walmart Link
Spinner: The Game of Wild Dominoes, Double 9 Set Plus 11 Wild Spinner Tiles Board Game, - Walmart Link
Double Twelve Mexican Train Dominoes in Tin - Walmart Link
Double 12 Mexican Train Number Dominoes to Go Travel Size with Zip Up Case, Hub & 8 - Walmart Link
Kicko Domino Set - Premium Classic 28 Pieces Double Six in Durable Wooden Brown Box for - Walmart Link
Regal Games Double 12 Colored Dot Dominoes Mexican Train Game Set with Wooden Hub, 91 - eBay Link
Premium Set of 55 Double Nine Dominoes with Wood Case, Brown - eBay Link
Double Six Professional Dominoes - White with Black Dots, Case Color May Very - eBay Link
Spinner: The Game of Wild Dominoes, Double 9 Set Plus 11 Wild Spinner Tiles Board Game, - eBay Link
Double Twelve Mexican Train Dominoes in Tin - eBay Link
Double 12 Mexican Train Number Dominoes to Go Travel Size with Zip Up Case, Hub & 8 - eBay Link
Kicko Domino Set - Premium Classic 28 Pieces Double Six in Durable Wooden Brown Box for - eBay Link
Playing Dominoes is fun, no doubt. In this article, we shared the best ones with their features. If you have been into the game before, you should have learned about new games you can try out now. For beginners, with this article, you are no longer a novice. As you now know, the in and out of the game. Don't just read and go. The interesting part is you get one and explore. Amazingly, there is no age restriction to this game. You can play it with your family. One of the things that keep a family bond stronger is when you play and have fun together. Also, you can carry it anywhere. Vacation, moments with friends, etc. You don't have to break the bank to purchase one. Each set is of different prices, and you go for the ones you can afford. You don't have to worry about the maintenance. It can be done personally (as indicated above). If not handled properly, the tiles can break. On rare occasions, the tiles can be fixed with glue. If it affects the pips, the tile is no longer suitable for the game. Don't forget to share with friends and family after reading.
About Mike Jones
As a child of the 80's, my fondest gaming memories are playing Pitfall, Frogger, Kaboom! and Chopper Command on our old Atari 8600. These days I've been rocking the Nintendo Classic and learning some new card and board games with the family."
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