Tuesday 20 January, 2009

Now this being the second time I've written about this game because obviously bringing up another tab with the gamelog site logs you out of the first tab. Therefore everything I have written was lost. Roughly around 5 - 6000 characters. I'm pretty PO'ed right now. Therefore this one will be a whole lot shorter and nowhere near in depth.

<-- Object -->
To win the game by having the fewest amount of points.

<-- Board -->
The game comes with a black plastic octagonal shape with cut outs on each side and a cut out in the middle. The cut outs in the side are for each player's trains. The cut out in the middle is used for the double dominoes. (I had a drawn out ascii picture of the board but I will not do that again) Also 6 plastic trains come with the game. These will be explained later.

<-- Players -->
Each player gets 12 dominoes from a pre-shuffled pile and a marker (penny, nickel, peice of paer, anything, etc.).

<-- Gameplay -->
Before the game is started:
The dominoes need to be shuffled. The game board in the center of the table. And a few drinks on hand.

Starting the game:
Each player selects 12 dominoes from the shuffled pile. Everyone checks their 12 dominoes for the double 12 domino. If no one has the domino then each player selects another domino. This process continues until the double 12 domino is found. Whoever gets the double 12 domino plays first.

Playing the game:
Playing on a train:
Once the double 12 domino is found the double 12 is placed in the center of the board allowing anyone to play on it. The person who finds the domino must lay down a domino with a 12 on it into one of the cut outs. Preferably the cut out in front of them because this is now their train. If the person can not play a domino then the player must select another domino from the pile. If the player still can not play then the player lays down their marker, denoting that train can be played on. If the player can play the domino from the pile then that domino must be played.

Rule about doubles:
If a player plays a double domino, such as 12/12 or 11/11, then that player must play another domino behind the double. If the player can not then the player selects another domino from the pile. If the player still can not play on the double then that player's marker is placed on their train, denoting anyone can play on their train. (Exactly like the first double played in the center of the board.) A DOUBLE MUST BE PLAYED ON BEFORE ANYONE CAN PLAY ANYWHERE ELSE ON THE BOARD. (This could possibly be used against other players about to win the game). If a double is drawn from the pile and the player can not back up that double then the player must draw one more domino from the pile. The double domino must be played.

Markers:
A marker is an object denoting that anyone can play on the train that the marker is laying on. Once a marker is placed on a train, anyone can play play on the train, allowing for more opportunities for the other players to play their dominoes. The marker is taken off the train once the owner can play on their train, thus allowing no one else to play on that train anymore.

The Community Train:
The community train is a train the allows anyone at anytime to play on, unless the problem of a double comes up. The community train is denoted by placing one of the plastic trains on the board in front of the train. The community train of course has to be started by matching the double in the center of the board.

Rounds:
Each round begins with a double domino. The rounds begin with the double 12 domino and precede down to the double 0.

Ending the round:
The round is ended when a player has run out of dominoes or the board has been stalemated. A board that has become stalemated is one that no one can play on any train or no one can play on double and all the dominoes have been drawn from the pile.

Ending the game:
The game is ended when all the rounds have been completed. The person with the lowest score of all the rounds added together is the winner.

This game takes anywhere from 2 to 4 hours to play. It is very fun, especially with friends and drinks.

<-- My Playing Experience -->
I have played this game many times with my friends and usually start around 11 at night and play until 2 or 3 in the morning. We have plenty of fun. The game is fun because there are strategies to make other people do bad while you do good. Such as if I play a double on a train and I can't back it up. This makes the next player HAVE to back it up thus possibly messing up their play they were about to make.

Also, a strategy to have to every game/round is to look at the domino in the center of the board and set up your next moves with the longest possible chain. Such as say the domino in the middle is 10-10. And I have in my hand a 10-5, 7-6, 8-5, 2-4, 5-7, 2-6. I now have my next 5 moves. 10-5,5-7,7-6,6-2,2-4. I know that I am the only one that can play on my train therefore I know I got my next 5 moves. Unless someone makes me play on another train with a double. This is where the fun/strategy/back-stabbing comes into play. This makes the game fun and entertaining.