DOMINO LOO



OBJECTIVE OF DOMINO LOO: The objective of Domino Loo is to win round to either collect points or chips.

NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 2 to 4 Players

MATERIALS: A double 6 domino set, a way to keep score or chips, and a flat play area.

TYPE OF GAME: Domino Game

AUDIENCE: Adults


OVERVIEW OF DOMINO LOO

Domino Loo is a domino game for 2 to 4 players. The goal of the game is to win round to earn chips or points. if playing for points the first person to 15 wins.

This game can be played as a bidding game. If wishing to play with this an ante should be agreed upon before the game.

SETUP

If playing for money or with chips each player will ante into the pot. Each player will place one chip in, but the dealer will place 5. When the pot is emptied players must ante again.

The first dealer is chosen at random and passes to the left for each new deal. The dealer will shuffle the dominos and make the boneyard. Players will draw or be dealt 5 tiles each. After all players have their tiles, the dealer will draw an additional tile called the turn-up. This will determine the trump suit. The trump suit will be the higher number on the tile and will remain revealed.

A player may choose to either fold (in 3 or 4 player games) or exchange if they do not like their hand. Starting with the player to the left of the dealer a player may call a miss, fold, or pass.

If calling a miss in a 2 or 3 player game, the player discards all their tiles from the game and draws 6 new tiles from the boneyard, one of these tiles will be discarded facedown with their previous hand. All these tiles are out of the game for the round. Up to two people may call a miss.

If calling a miss in a 4-player game, the player discards their hand and draws the remaining 7 tiles, and discards 2 of those. Only one player may do this. 

Once a player chooses to miss, they may not then choose to fold.

To fold a player will discard their hand and not draw any more tiles. This means they are not playing in the round and cannot win any stakes from the pot, but it also prevents them from being looed (discussed later).

When it comes time for the dealer to call and if they choose to not miss, they can take the revealed trump tile and discard any tile from their hand. if all other players have folded the dealer takes the entire pot.

Specifically, in 4 player games if all but one other player has dropped and this player has taken the miss the dealer may call to play for the pot. This means if they win they will not take anything from the pot, but they cannot be looed Either, they just play to keep the other player from winning the whole pot automatically.

Tile Ranking

The tiles can have two different numbers on them blank through 6 and may also be doubles. One number will be chosen as the suit and the other will be the rank. Blank, which is the lowest rank and 6 is the highest. When a player plays a tile, it may be of either suit the player chooses and the other number defines its rank in the suit. The only tiles that cannot be chosen for are tiles with the trump suit on them. These tiles always belong to the trump suit.

GAMEPLAY

The game begins with the player to the left of the dealer. The first trick can be led by any tile, and if it is not a trump tile the player must announce the suit.

To play to a trick you must follow the below restrictions. A player must play a trump if they have more than 2 in their hand. A player who just won a trick must lead the next with a trump if able. All players must follow suit if able. If not able to follow suit you must play a trump if able. If you cannot do either you may play any tile.

Tricks are won by the highest-ranked trump played or if no trumps are present then by the highest tile of the suit originally led.

Once all tricks are won, the round is over.

SCORING

Scoring is done after the round is concluded.

If any player did not win any tricks during the round they have been Looed.

If scoring points, players receive one point for each trick won. If looed a player loses 5 points. The game ends when a player reaches 15 points.

If playing for chips a player wins 1/5th of the pot for each trick they took.

If a player was looed, they must pay to the pot an equal number of chips as there were in the pot at the beginning of the round. These chips are paid into the pot for the next round. The dealer will also contribute 5 chips, but no other players will need to pay an ante to the pot. A cap can be put on this to prevent the possibility of an exponential pot.

If a dealer played for the pot, anything they would have won remains in the pot for the next round. 

END OF GAME

The game ends when a player reaches 15 or more points, or players wish to stop playing for chips. The winner is the player who reached 15 first or the player who won the most chips.

Amber Crook
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