Dominoes
THERE was a time when dominoes was a much more favourite game than at present. In many old houses beautifully finished sets of dominoes are yet kept, a memento of the favour in which the game was once, and still deserves to be, held. For boys it is second to none, as it improves their power of calculation, exercises their judgment, and leads them to acquire a habit of estimating chances in connexion with numbers, which is exceedingly useful in after-life.
The ordinary game of dominoes is played with twenty-eight pieces, which include every combination of numbers, from double-blank to double-6; but boxes of dominoes are not uncommon which have fifty-two pieces, or even eight-five pieces, one including double-9's, and the latter double-12's. These are more used in the north than the south. The dominoes are usually made of oblong pieces of ivory, frequently cemented to an ebony back; whilst on the front they are divided into two parts by a fine line across the middle, and marked with round black spots. These are 1 and 1, 1 and 2, and so on to 6; then 2 and blank, 2 and 1, and so on. Where a set of dominoes is not handy, a pack of what printers call third-large cards may be made available, if they are marked with a pen, and the backs kept perfectly clean. These may be shuffled and dealt in a similar manner to playing cards; but the dominoes must be placed face downwards on the table and "shuffled" by being well mixed together. The turn to commence is called "the pose," and is the same in all games of dominoes. After the players have drawn from the bulk the number of dominoes each requires, double-6 is called for, and he who has it plays first. If it is not in hand, then the highest double plays; if no doubles are out, then the call is from the highest domino to the lowest, as 6--5, 6--4, and so on.