Today’s Rave: Fives

You may think that Dominoes is a childish game that is a waste of time for any seasoned game player. And you’d be right. Ahem. Actually, there is one game played with dominoes that’s pretty cool: Fives. Also known as All-Fives or Muggins, the game is simple yet there is quite a few different tactics to be employed.

Generally played with two though it can be played with up to four, the player with the highest double (i.e. a domino with the same number on both sides) puts it down. This is the spinner and it can be added to on four sides. Players then take turns adding on dominoes in the usual fashion, by connecting a matching number on one side of one of their dominoes to a domino already on the board.

The trick with Fives, and what makes it interesting, is that every time the outer dominoes on the board add up to a multiple of five, you score that many points. Also, if you manage to use up all of your dominoes, you score as many points as pips remaining in your opponent’s hand. This means that you can play defensively, and try to keep your opponent from scoring, or try to make him draw a lot of dominoes and then go out quickly (you have to keep drawing until you draw a domino you can play), trying to capitalize on his large hand. You can also try to set up traps where you invite him to score a low multiple and then you add a new domino, cranking up the score by five or even 10 for yourself.

Generally the game is played to about 200 points, and it combines speed of play with variety – a single round only takes a couple of minutes at most, and even players that are lagging pretty far behind can come back with a little luck and a few good moves. It’s just about the only good game with dominoes that I’ve played, and it stands up to virtually any classic board game in its appeal.

You may not be the kind of person that plays many board games, but if you have an old, unused set of dominoes lying around the house, you should bust them out and give the game a try with a friend. You won’t be disappointed.