Yahoo Dominos Review

How to Play Dominos

Players begin with seven dominos each, going from the double blank to the double six (or the double nine, if players change the settings to double nines -- Players start with nine dominos if they are playing double nines). The player with the highest double starts the first round; after that, the player who played last starts the next round. The object of the game is to create chains of dominos by connecting dominos with the same number. For example, if the double six is played, players can only play dominos that have a six on one side of them. If a player doesn’t have a domino that matches any of the open ends of the chain, they must draw from the bone yard until they get a domino they can play.

Scoring

Scoring in dominos is probably the trickiest bit of the game. To score, players have to play a domino that causes the board count -- the total of all the ends of the chains -- to equal a multiple of five. For example, say there were four chains of dominos on the board, with the ends being a two, a three, a five, and a four. The board count would be 14. To score, a player could place a two/three domino on the two, making the open ends of the chains a three, a five, a four, and another three. The board count would be 15, and the player would gain 15 points. It takes a few rounds to really grasp the scoring system, but once you do, it becomes pretty easy to see ways to get multiples of five. To make it easier, the game displays the board count while playing, so you can see what the total of the ends are before picking a domino to play. Players can choose to play to 50, 100, 250, or 500, depending on how long they want each game to last.

Options

There are several different game options available to players. They are as follows:

• play using double sixes or double nines
• play to 50, 100, 250, or 500
• play a non-five up game, where points are not awarded until the game is over
• play best of ten hands
• players can also turn off the spinner (the first domino that allows players to start four chains; turning this off only allows two chains to grow across the board).

Dominos Gameplay

Because it plays so similar to classic version, Yahoo! Dominos requires virtually no learning time, making it easy for players how know nothing about online games to jump right in. The graphics, of course, aren’t very advanced, but they don’t need to be. Also, there are no sounds at all. While the gameplay is very simple, it is also very addictive, especially the chatroom version, which can have up to four players at once.

The Bottom Line

If you’re looking for a fun game to play with others, Yahoo Dominos is a great choice. Players looking for even more of a challenge can participate in one of the many tournaments to try to claim the title of dominos champion.