The game of dominoes has somewhat lost its popularity with the advent of computer games. But almost everyone has memories from their childhood, when on the playgrounds, men and grandfathers played this game with great delight and loudly shouted "Fish".
Dominoes are very popular all over the world, with about a billion people playing them! The game was most popular in Spain and Latin American countries. Many of them have dominoes as an official sport! Where does this entertainment come from and how many years has it been played?
A brief history of the game
The essence of the game is to rebuild a chain of "bones" (stones, bones), which will be combined with their halves with the same number of points, which are used to calculate winning points. Games that resemble dominoes existed in many countries many centuries ago.
It was in China that this game was invented, it happened in the 13th century, where at first instead of dice, plates with white and red dots were used. In this country, dominoes are still very popular.
When the game was brought to Italy, which happened already in the 18th century, it was significantly changed and it was here that it was given its modern name. At first, dominoes were played in Italy and France, then in England, and then in the New World. The game is often called bones because the earliest dominoes were made from animal bones or ivory.
Interpretation of the name
From the Italian language "domino" is a word that means Mr. The formation of the name is connected with several factors. The first one to lay out all the bones will be considered the master. There is also a version that the game was named after the masquerade costume "domino", which resembles the clothes of Dominican monks (black hat and white cloak).
The Latin word "dominus" means Lord. Previously, gambling was allowed only in monasteries, and before the beginning, divine words were uttered and the Lord was glorified, after which the player placed the first dice on the table.
Modern dominoes
Today, there is even an international domino championship, where the strongest players from all over the world participate. It was held for the first time in 2003.
Nowadays, there are many variations of this game, for example:
- Kozel (the most popular type of game, and all others are similar to it, differing only in the level of difficulty).
- Sea goat.
- Lentils
- Sports dominoes.
- Donkey (or cross).
- Phone.
- Muggins.
- General (general's goat).
- Seven
Funny and interesting facts about dominoes
- For a long time, this game was considered childish and did not pay much attention to it, and in ancient times it was played only by artists, peasants and monks. But when dominoes got to the French, they understood its usefulness, excitement and curiosity and later brought it to the secular world.
- This game was not considered gambling, because at first only monks played and such entertainment was not a sin. But the gypsies still found a way to lead the people around the finger with the help of bones.
- When mathematical literacy began to grow in the European community, the first copies of dominoes began to be made, where many possible combinations for winning were indicated. But over time, this game was successfully replaced by checkers, bridge, roulette, chess and even monopoly.
- In the Netherlands, there is even a real holiday that is dedicated to "bones" - it is "Domino Day".
- Did you know what the domino effect means? It is a cumulative effect that occurs when one event causes a series of similar or related events, a form of chain reaction. Many children in the 80s and 90s did not play so much as built fences from plates that were twisted. Then the first one had to be lightly pushed and the process of the exciting falling snake began.
- It was thanks to wandering artists that dominoes became known all over the world. And in Europe, it was finally changed - a "zero point" was added and the number of dice was increased to 28 pieces.
- The didactic game of dominoes hides a huge potential, which allows the child to acquire knowledge about various aspects of life without tension and in a playful way, to acquire practical skills and abilities.
- The game was never meant to be difficult, but it develops math skills and logic, as well as training memory and strategic thinking.
- Kits in China and Europe are different. In the first case, 6 numbers are used, because in the East this number symbolizes harmony, and in the second case, 7 is the Divine number.
- Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev loved to play dominoes. He believed that this entertainment perfectly develops intuition.
Interesting terms with dominoes
The terminology in this game is also very interesting.
- If you don't have the right kist, you have to "go to the bazaar".
- Fish is the end of the game when no player can place a die at either end of the line.
- Soap or bingo is a zero take. Royal pair-three stones with an equal sum of points (3:1, 2:2, 4:0).
Do you know why this game is called a goat or a donkey? Everything is simple - because she was simply named after the inhabitants of the zoo.
As you can see, dominoes is quite an interesting and ancient game with a large variation of the rules, which can be learned from the detailed article "How to play dominoes. Rules of the game. Step-by-step instructions". Knowing its history and interesting facts, you can present the game as a gift, especially when the set is decorative. Start your acquaintance with board games from the classics, because dominoes are useful for both adults and children!