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Bingo

This game is based on the card game of Sixty-Six.
Requirements

  1. Two players.
  1. Rank of pieces is the same as in the partnership Draw Game, except that blanks count as 7-spots. The double blank, which is called bingo and counts for 14 spots, is the highest domino, and takes the double of trumps. When blanks are trump, bingo counts 28.

The Play. Play is started by each player drawing for the lead; he who draws the highest piece is the leader. Then each player draws his seven dominoes, after which the leader turns up another piece, the highest spot on which is trump. This leader leads first; but, after that, the winner of a trick leads to the next trick. In addition, the winner of a trick draws one domino from the discard pile, and the opponent then draws a piece, so that until the discard pile is exhausted bo0th hands are maintained at seven dominoes.
A trick containing a trump is won by the higher trump. A trick containing a trump by the higher trump. A trick containing no trump is won by the piece having the higher spot count, or by the leader if both are of the same count. Until the discard pile is exhausted, the second player to a trick may play any piece – he need not follow suit. But, when the discard pile is exhausted (the trump domino going to the player who did not win the last trick of the early play), the rules of final play come into effect and dictate that each lead then requires the opponent to follow suit if able. He must follow to a trump with a trump, or follow to a non trump in the order of precedence: the higher suit, the lower suit, a trump. Only if unable to follow to either suit and unable to trump, may he discard.
closing. At any time during the early play, a player who believes he can reach 70 points and who has gained the lead can close. closure is signified by turning the trump domino down. Thereafter, no more pieces are drawn from the discard pile, and the poker rules of final play come into force.
Scoring. The game consists of 7 points, which are made in the following manner: The player who first counts 70 scores 1 point toward game; if he makes 70 before his opponent has counted 30, he scores 2 points; if he makes 70 before his adversary has won a trick, he scores 3 points. If bingo captures the double of trump, it scores at once 1 point for the winner of the trick.
The pieces count as follows to the winner of the trick containing them: The double of trumps always counts 28; the other doubles and all the other trumps count according to their spots; the 6-4 and 3-blank are always good for ten each, whether trumps or not; the other pieces have no value.
If at any time a player has two doubles in his hand, he can do the following: when it is his turn to lead, play one double, show the other, and announce 20 points, which are added to his count as soon as he has won a trick. If he holds three doubles, he counts 40; for four double, 50; for five doubles, 60; for six doubles, 70 points. If bingo is among the doubles held, it adds 10 more points to the count.

Cyprus

While all the Domino games thus described have been played with a double-six Domino set, some of them can be adapted to using a double-nine games is Cyprus, which is played like Sebastopol except for the following:

  1. From four to ten play, with number of pieces drawn depending on the number of players as follows:
Players Pieces Drawn
1 13
2 11
2 9
4 7
8 or 9 6
10 5
  1. The holder of the double nine, the dominoes are reshuffled and redrawn. This continues until someone receives the double nine.
  2. In clockwise rotation, the players may play nine nines to form a star or fortress. But only after the central fortress has been completed as in the diagram, can the ends of the nines already played be matched. The game then proceeds as in the ordinary Block Game.

The matador Game

This double-nine Domino set game is played like all Seven except that the sum of the two adjacent ends (the end of the piece played and the end of the piece in the layout ) must add up to ten unless one of the special matadors (wild dominoes) is used. A one is added to a nine, a to an eight, a three to a seven, etc. Doubles are placed endwise and count as a single (i.e. 4-4 calls for a 6 spot, not a 1-spot ). Nothing can be played on a blank but a Matador, of which there are six: 0-0, 5-5, 6-4,7-3,8-2, 9-1. Matadors are wild and can be played at any time, anywhere. Play progresses as follows:

  1. If there are three to six players, each draws seven dominoes. If there are more, then each player draws five.
  2. The leader plays double, if he has one; if not, he plays his highest domino. Example: If a double eight is led, it must be joined at higher side with a two by the next player. If he does not have a two, he must play a matador or draw from the discard pile until he obtains a two. If he played a 2-5, the end spots of the layout would then be eights or five. The next player must play a two to the eight, or a five to the five. Play proceeds in a clockwise direction.
  3. When a player cannot make the required ten, and does not wish to play a matador or does not have one, he must draw until he can play or until only two dominoes are left in the pool; then, if he has failed to draw a playable domino, he must play a matador if he has one.
  4. When one player has drawn all but the last two dominoes from the discard pile, and can neither make a ten, nor play a matador, he must pass. If no other player can play, the game is blocked and the player holding the lowest number of spots scores the spots held in his opponent’s hands.
  5. A player who goes domino scores all the spots held in his opponents’ hands.
  6. A game is 200 points.

MAH-JONGG

This game is a Chinese development of Dominoes, with similarities to Rummy. In China, it is played in various ways in different provinces. An American businessman and traveler in China, Joseph P. Babcock, made a study of the game, devised a set of rules for Occidental play, and added Arabic numerals to the tiles. In 1920 he began to import sets under the trademark of Mah-Jongg. It became a major craze until 1926, then faded, but still has many enthusiasts.
Equipment. The mah-Jongg set contains 144 tiles comprised of 108 suit tiles, 28 honors, and 8 flowers (also called seasons).
Suits. The three suits are bamboo (also called bans or sticks), circles (also called dots), and characters (also called cracks or actors). Each suit contains four each of the tiles numbered 1 through 9.
Honors. There are four duplicates each of red dragon, green dragon, White dragon, east wind, west wind, North wind, and South wind.
Flowers. These are all individually marked, but are assigned in pairs to the four winds. Additional equipment includes two dice, a number or tokens or colored sticks used for score keeping, and four racks one for each player, to hold his tiles upright.
Players and Positions. The game is played by four, each playing for himself. One player is chosen by throwing the dice to be East, and he has the choice of seats. The others sit where they please and are designated as West, North, and South depending on the position of East. The East player wins or loses double. If he wins he keeps his position. If he loses, the player at his left becomes East, and all the others move around to the left.

Mah-Jongg tiles (top to bottom): Bamboos (sticks), circles (dots), cracks on actors), flowers (seasons), winds and dragons (bottom line). The modern game also has eight big jokers.

Winds. East wind prevails during the first deal, South wind in the second, West wind in the third, North wind in the fourth. A player who obtains a set of tiles of the prevailing wind scores more for it than for another wind. After a round of winds-four deals- the players cast again for positions at the table.
The Wall. All the players assist in shuffling the tiles which are face down on the table. Each player then draws 36 tiles at random and builds a wall before himself, two tiles high and eighteen long, all tiles face down. Each pile of two tiles is a stack. Then the four walls are pushed together with the aid of the racks to form a hollow square. Each player sets a rack before himself, East’s being of a different color than the others.
Breaking the Wall. East casts the two dice, adds the two numbers, and counts up to this total, beginning with the East wall as 1 and going clockwise. The wall on which the count ends is the first wall to be broken. The player at that position throws the dice again and adds his total to the previous total to determine which stack of the wall shall be taken first.
The player begins at the right end of his wall and counts to the left the number of stacks indicated. If the total is more than 18, he counts around the corner on to the wall at his left. The indicated stack is lifted out and both tiles are placed face down on the wall, the undermost next to the break, the upper tile at its right. These are called loose tiles and, whenever both have been taken, the next stack on the right of the break is set on the wall as loose tiles.
Drawing the Hands. Beginning with East, each online poker player in turn takes two adjacent stacks (four tiles) from ‘the left side of the break until he has 12 tiles. Each in turn then takes one more tile (a total of 13); finally, East takes one extra tile (a total of 14).
Object of Play. To obtain sets of tiles which are of three kinds:
Chow. A set of three tiles in numerical order (a sequence) of the same suit.
Pungo A set of three identical tiles (same suit and rank), or three dragons of the same color, or three winds of the same direction.
Kong. A pung plus the fourth like tile. This fourth tile is not counted among the 14 which make up a complete hand (four sets or three and a pair). A player who finds a kong in his original hand may ground it (place it face up on the table), and draw a loose tile to fill his hand. The two end tiles then are turned face down to show that it counts as a concealed set (obtained entirely by drawing from the wall).
Flowers are not counted as part of the original hand of 13 tiles. Any flowers drawn either in the original hand or later must be grounded and replaced by drawing loose tiles. The loose tiles are drawn in rotation beginning with East.
The Play. East plays first, by discarding one tile and reducing his hand to 13. From then on, all hands are maintained at 13 tiles, counting unmatched tiles, chows, and pungs; but flowers and the fourth tile poker games of kongs are not counted.
The turn to play moves counterclockwise, except when interrupted by the claim of a discard out of turn (see below). In turn, each player either draws one tile from the wall (to the left of the break), or takes the last discard. He ends his turn by discarding one tile. Discarded tiles are placed face up within the enclosure formed by the walls. Grounded sets are put between the wall and owner’s rack.
Discards. A discard may be used if it can be grounded at once as part of a set, but it must be claimed before the next player draws.
Any player who can use the discard can claim it whether or not it is his turn to play. If two or more players claim the same discard, precedence is according to the purpose for which it is wanted: (a) to complete a hand, (b) to make pung or kong, (c) to make chow.
If two hands claim for the same purpose, the one whose turn would come first has precedence.
The player who obtains the discard’ grounds it with the set in which it is used, discards, and the turn then passes to his right neighbor. Intervening hands, between discarder and claimer, lose their turns.
Grounding Sets. After play starts, a concealed kong can be grounded only after the player has drawn from either the wall or the table, and before he discards. A kong in the hand, not grounded before some player ends the deal by completing a hand, counts only as a concealed pung.
A player who holds a concealed pung and draws a fourth tile from the table may ground only three tiles, and must hold the fourth in his hand. But if it is still in his hand when the deal ends, the set counts only as a pung.
A player who holds or draws from the wall a fourth tile for his grounded pung may add it to the set to make a kong, and then draw a loose tile. But he cannot claim a discard and add it to an already grounded pung.
Woo or Mah-Jongg. When he completes his hand, four sets and a pair, a player may woo or mah-jongg by showing his whole hand. he wins the deal, ending play.
The tile needed to complete the hand may be obtained by drawing from the wall, by claiming a discard, or by robbing a king. This consists in claiming the fourth tile that another player has just added to a grounded pung; it can only be done to woo.
The last 14 tiles may not be drawn from the wall. If all the rest are drawn, play continues only as long as successive discards are used. If play ends and no9 player has wooed, the deal is a draw, without score, and East keeps his position for the next deal.
Scoring. The value of the winning hand is computed first, and each other player pays this amount to the poker winner . If East is winner, he collects double.
The values of the other three hands are then computed, and each player settles with each other according to the difference of their scores. If East is one of the three, he pays or collects double. The basic value of each hand is found by adding the points for sets, and this total is doubled one or more times for special sets.

BASIC VALUES FOR ALL HANDS

Sets

From table

Concealed

Pung of simples (suit ranks 2 through 8)

2

4

Pung of terminals (suit ranks 1 and 9)

2

4

Pung of honors (winds or dragons)

4

8

Kong of simples

8

16

Kong of terminals

16

32

Kong of honors

16

32

Pair of dragons

2

2

Pair of prevailing wind

2

2

Pair of Player’s own wind

2

2

Pair of Player’s own wind (when prevailing)

4

4

Each flower

4

DOUBLES FOR ALL HANDS

Multiply the basic value by the factor given

Each pung or kong of dragons

2

Pung or kong of prevailing wind

2

Pung or kong of player’s own wind

2

Player’s own flower

2

All four flowers (includes the double for the player’s own flower)

16

BONUSES FOR WOO HAND

Add to Basic value

For going woo

20

For drawing from the wall

2

For filling the only place to complete the hand

2


Factor

Winning with last tile of the wall or a subsequent discard

2

Winning with a loose tile drawn after a kong

2

No chows

2

All chows and worthless pair

2

All one suit, with honors

All terminals, with honors

2

All one suit, with honors

All terminals, with honors

limit

All honors, without suits

Limit

Limit Hands. Players should agree in advanced on the limit any player may collect or be required to pay. In the American game this is usually 500 (for East, 1,000)