Domino Cribbage

This game is based on the playing-card game of Cribbage which is said to have been invented in the 15th-century by the English game player Sir John Sucking. It is played by two players using a Double-Six domino set. This domino version of the game was first reported being played in the Royal Air Force officer's clubs in England during the Second World War. It is often played using a cribbage board for scoring, but can just as easily be played with a score sheet and pen and paper.

Play:

One player is given the position of dealer and the other non-dealer and players alternate roles after each round. The dominoes are shuffled, facedown, then each player draws six tiles for their hand. Each player takes a look at their hand of tiles and then discards two dominoes, facedown, on the playing area. The four tiles discarded, form the "crib" and will be scored by the dealer at the end of the round.

The dealer starts the game by turning over a domino from the undrawn tiles, known as the "starter". The remaining tiles are not used in further play. The starter is used by both players for scoring at the end of the hand.

The non-dealer player then places a tile of his choice down on the playing area and announces the total number of pips on the tile. The dealer then does the same and places a tile down but announces the running total of his tile's pips with the non-dealer's pip count. Both players continue to alternate playing tiles and calling out the running total of pips played. When a player cannot play a tile without the running total going over 31, he announces "Go!" and the play then passes to the other player, who keeps turning over tiles and calling out the total until he can no longer keep the total at or under 31.

Players score points for certain game situations, while playing, for the tiles they've played and the crib. It is a little complicated but clearly explained below.

Once a tile can't be played and keep the total at or under 31, the count is set back to 0 and the opponent of the last player to play a tile, plays the first tile in the new round.

The first player to score 61 points (a complete number of moves round a cribbage board) wins the game.

The role of dealer alternates for each new game.

Scoring:

• The player who brings the total to exactly 15, scores 2 points.
• A player who plays a tile with the same total as the previously played tile (including theirs or their opponent's) is said to have "made a pair" and scores 2 points.
• A player who plays a tile with the same total as the previously played two tiles (including theirs or their opponent's) is said to have "made a triplet" and scores 6 points.
• A player who plays a tile with the same total as the previously played three tiles (including theirs or their opponent's) is said to have "made a fourth" and scores 12 points
• A.player who plays a tile that is in sequence to the previous two tiles or more, whether played in sequence or not, has made a "run" and scores 1 point per domino tile in the run.
• The player who brings the total to exactly 31, scores 2 points.
• The player who brings the total nearest to 31 with no more tiles being able to be played without going over, scores 1 point.
• The player who plays the last tile of a hand, but not with a total of exactly 31, scores 1 point..

Further scores are made after the end of play once player's tiles have all been exposed. The non-dealer player adds the tiles in his hand and the starter tile to his score. The dealer then adds his hand and the starter to his score. Then the dealer puts his 4-hand tile aside and adds the starter to the crib, tallying this to his score. The crib tiles are considered a separate hand and are not mixed with the player's other hand.

A player's tiles can be rearranged into a number of other combinations and score points many more times. Scoring tile combinations are as follows:

• Any combination of tiles that total 15, scores 2 points.
• Any 3 or more tiles with pip totals in sequence (known as a "run"), scores 1 point for each tile.
• Any two tiles with the same pip total number of pips ("a pair"), scores 2 points.
• Any three tiles with the same pip total ("a pair royal"), scores 6 points.
• Any four tiles with the same pip total ("a double pair royal"), scores 12 points.