Other Games

There are also a variety of other games played with dominoes. Some are simple memory games like Concentration (based on the card game of same name), some are complex, and some are simple solitaire games.

Concentration

Concentration is generally played by two players. The bones are placed face down on the table, shuffled by one, both, or all players and then arranged in a simple rectangular grid. For double-six dominoes, for example, the 28 bones would be placed in four rows of seven bones each.

The goal of play is to collect pairs of bones. The player who collects the most pairs wins the game. With double-six dominoes, pairs consist of any two bones whose pips sum to 12. For example, the 3-5 and the 0-4 form a pair. In some variations, doubles can only form pairs with other doubles so that the 2-2, for example, can only be paired with the 4-4.

Players, in turn, try to collect pairs by turning over and exposing the faces of two bones from the grid. If the four faces of the two bones sum to 12, the player takes the two bones, scores a point (in some rules a point for each bone taken), and plays again. If the tally is any other number, the bones are turned face down again and the player's turn is over.

The first player to accumulate 50 (or 100) points wins the series.

Chickie Dominos (Chicken Foot)

Chickie dominos is a low score wins game. Chickie Dominos is played in rounds, one round for each double domino in the set.

Setup

For double 6 dominos, there are seven rounds. The score keeper writes 0 through 6 on the top of the score sheet and creates a score column for each player. All dominos are face down in the centre. Each player picks 5 dominos at random to make their hand.

The First Round

The player with the double 6 lays it down in the centre of the play field. If no player has the double 6 then the player with the next highest double plays it. The player to the left of the player who lead the double 6 plays any domino in their hand with a 6 on it on one of the four sides of the double 6 with the played domino's 6 against a free side of the double 6. The next player plays another 6 on a remaining side until all four sides are filled. If a player cannot play because they do not have a 6, then the player draws one domino from the bone yard and either plays it because it has a 6 or calls "Pass". No other plays can be made until all four sides of the double are filled. Once all four sides are filled, the player to the left of the last person to fill the 6 may play any domino in their hand that matches an exposed end of a played domino. If a player is unable to match any exposed dominos, they must draw one domino from the bone pile and either play it if possible or call "Pass". If no dominos remain to draw from, the player simply calls "Pass".

Chickie

Any time a player plays a double of any number on the exposed domino with the same number as the double, the player calls "Chickie (Number)". For example, if a player played a double 5 on the end of a the 6/5 domino they would lay it long side against the end with the 5 and call "Chickie Fives". No other dominos can be played until three more 5's are played against the double 5. The three dominos played against the double 5 are played on the long side opposite the side originally played. The end result will look like a chicken foot with the double 5 having one domino laid perpendicular to one side, and three more dominos on the opposite side, the middle being perpendicular and the other two at 45 degrees to perpendicular. Any player who does not have a 5 must draw a domino from the bone pile and either play it if it has a 5 or call "Pass". Once all three 5's are played, the next player may play any domino in their hand on any exposed end that matches. Play continues until a player is out of dominos or no player can make a legal play.

Ending a Round

A round is over when either one player plays the last domino in their hand or no players can make a legal play. This situation can occur if someone chickie's a number that no longer has three remaining free dominos to play on it.

At the end of a round, each player adds the spots on the dominos in their hand and adds this to their score. The score keeper crosses out the double that lead the round and the next round begins with the highest double left. When all 7 rounds are played, the player with the lowest score wins.

Strategy

Since the object of the game is to have the lowest score, it is in your best interest to get rid of your high value dominos and at the same time, prevent your opponents from playing theirs. To this end, one strategy is to try to keep high value exposed ends covered which prevents opponents from chickie-ing them. Another strategy is to horde low value dominos and try to use up a particular number which you have the double for. Once you know that there are no longer three free dominos to complete the chickie, you control when the round ends by playing the chickie. This is especially good when you also have that number as your last domino. It also pays to keep the double blank since it adds no value to your score. Like poker, watching for looks of desperation on your opponents faces can clue you in to who has the big doubles.