|
In Tuscaloosa, “indicator” bids and plays are an important part of the game. We call them “signal” bids and plays. But, to make it fair play, everyone, including your opposition, must know what indicator bidding and playing system you are using. As long as all players know, it is totally fair. It is not fair only if the opposition is not informed of your system. If I indicate that I have the Double Six, that information is just as valuable to the opposition as it is to my partner. We even have indicators for the second and third sluffs.
Sounds similar to Bridge bidding conventions. - PP
My family played to ten, whichever team got to ten first? Maybe... I didn't play after I was grown and I didn't keep score when I was younger. But I do remember liking to watch the score build up and I could draw it and scan it if it's not something you already have. My mom's family were cotton pickers and lived around south and west of Fort Worth, in various little towns, mostly, I think (and in Carlsbad, New Mexico for a few years). My dad's family was in Rotan, northwest of Abilene. Yes, please send the scanned score drawing. Thanks. - PP
This is perfect for refreshing my memory of 42. I haven't played in about 6 years and plan on joining the Senior Center 42 group. I have really missed this game. Also played Moon. It was a little easier since you bid on tricks and not points. But, love both. ... I am originally from Texas, and I learned the game from my parents. They said that they courted with 42. Almost all their dates consisted of playing 42 with their parents. From a Tennessean who wrote a poem about Texas 42
Here in Tuscaloosa, AL , our variation of 42 follows: We play with Double 7’s. Now with the “7–3” domino, and 9 tricks instead of 7, the count is 54. (54 is the double 7 version of the 42 game played with double 6’s.) Whoever gets the bid, has the option of calling “low” or “high”. Thus, the person who gets the bid, has 20 possible calls. He can call low or high on the 8 suits, low or high doubles, and low or high no-trump. We allow doubles of the maximum bid to 108 and 216. You can’t purchase double 7’s. All I have ever seen are 6’s, 9’s, and 12’s. But, from a set of double 9’s , we extract a set of double 7’s. We like the Puremco tournament size dominoes. The double 7’s contain 36 dominoes, so with 4 players, each draws 9 dominoes. Then, play the game with exactly the same rules as you play 42. As I noted (above), the “7–3” domino counts 10, and there are 2 extra tricks. So, 45 plus 9 equals 54. The rules I outlined are just our way of playing 42. We find that playing with double 7’s adds significantly to the strategy. And, there are not nearly as many “stone cold locks” on perfect hands as there are in 42. Give it a try! I think you will like it. Thanks, Reggie, for sharing. - PP
having been born and raised in texas, i probably cut teeth on a domino. even tho i am in my forties, we haven't slowed down any! and, your rules seem to be just the same ones by which we play. thanks for the page!! I have played 42 at work through the years. I remember that we played if you could bid 42 high then people also could bid low. I think you mean Nil-o not Nel-o. Nil means Zero, none, not a single one. Right or wrong, most 42 players call it Nel-O (or nello). See Q/A96. - PP
A very good site. I enjoyed browsing it. It took me a very long time to become fairly good at 42. Playing against good competition definitely helps. The old adage “study long, study wrong” certainly applies to 42. Eventually, I learned that elaborate strategies may not be as important as knowing your opponent and his/her tendencies. I’m a little sad to see your emphasis on restraining table talk. We enjoy every 2nd Friday night at our church as “dominight” and play a wide variety of domino games – including 42. The 42 itself actually seems like more an excuse to get together, catch up with events in others’ lives, and give each other a hard time than an end in itself ... Thanks. I added more clarity to the discussion on "talking across the table." - PP
I enjoyed visiting your website. My 79 year old mother has played 42 all of her adult life. Now my father has passed as well as all her brothers and their spouses. We got her a computer and (now) ... she can play 42 against the computer ... Just wanted to say I enjoyed reading the overview of "42". I learned at a young age but had forgotten a few things, such as how to go low and that doubles could be a suit of their own. Unfortunately, I don't get the opportunity to play much. I will defintely tell others that don't know how to play the game about this site. Thanks for sharing! We have a rule at our house that a player's dominoes must be arranged in two rows with four dominoes in front and three in back. This discourages signalling of strength of suits or doubles in the dominoes drawn. I've played games where the dominoes had to touch end to end in each row and could not be rearranged during a round of play. I was impressed by all the information in your 42 web pages. I've played 42 for almost 50 years and I still learned a lot about the game that I didn't know. Thanks. Love your website! I have been playing 42 for years, but I know some people who are new to the game and your site is an excellent place for them to get a good grasp of the rules. I would love to learn this game but need some instructions (beyond your excellent directions). Is there anyplace I can meet up with an instructor or meet with a group?? I am in Orange County California. ... Reference Q/A 26 - PP
What else must I do to play 42? I down loaded the files by clicking the download tab as 42frames.exe. I answered the poll. I am so excited to play 42 I can't stand it. ... We have been playing 42 for over 40 years (obviously we are from Texas). We play "high-man" (same as follow me) and we also play "low-man" (this is where the lowest domino wins the trick - the double in this trick would be the unwinning.) We also do not force anyone to take a bid, we pass and reshuffle. We have always played nello,* where a player holding four doubles wins the bid and then says nello* and his partner has to choose the trump. We just played for 5 hours last night, 4 couples (the best 2 out of 3 wins) our own little 42 tournament!!! Our favorite game to play. Thanks for your time and effort to teach this game to others. * Plunge variation? - PP
... found your site when was seeking for the rules of 42. It's in my opinion, one of the best. It explain the game very well, and the Q&A section is great indeed! I created a website to explain and promote the 42 game here in Brazil. It is in portuguese. ... So, hope it help to promote this great game among us, here in BR. Dominoes are very popular here, but the 42 is still unknown, a pity, because it's a wonderful game, simple and plenty of strategy. We have started playing something we call 42 High Stakes. Normally we will play 2 best of 3 and then play a few rounds of our High Stakes. What we do is throw our offs back in the pot and reshuffle. We do this up to 3 times. The whole point it to try to get a perfect hand. Then it becomes a bidding war. It is pretty fun. Thanks... I wanted to find some rules to teach my friends... so that we have a game to play. I remember growing up around lots of people playing 42. It was a family game. Anytime my family got together... they were playing forty two. Thanks again. Very informative site. Thank you for providing these instructions - I am learning to play 42 (have played once) and written instructions will be so helpful. Thanks! I HAVE ENJOYED YOUR 42 FOR SEVERAL YEARS, HOWEVER SOMETHING HAS HAPPENED. IT DOESN'T LET ME SEE THE SCORE OR WHO BID. DON'T KNOW WHAT HAPPENED. Margaret: Perhaps you're thinking of Curtis Cameron's Win42 game. If so, drag the bottom edge of the play window up to see if the score/bid box is hiding behind. - PP
Thank you for a great web site. Now I can tell all my non-Texan friends to come here to learn the greatest game ever! Excellent site! Incredibly helpful!!! Love the game. Thanks for your site. nd. Commentary contribution: Beerdaddy42 (42 handle). I was raised in Texas and currently live in Charlotte, NC. I was looking for instructions to include in a gift set of dominoes. My fondest memories of 42 are playing in the Dixie Chicken in College Station. (My wife and I are Texas Aggies, Class of '80 from Houston.) We plan to introduce the game to some neighbor friends from Nebraska and Georgia after burgers and peach cobbler tonight. Hi. I am just trying to get better (at playing 42). Love 42. Thanks for your rules here, you'll save me alot of time teaching 42 to my fellow Navy Seabees in Iraq next month!! Thanks Again, BU3 (K.R.) USNR I only bid 30 if I am the last bidder or I have a partner that does not like to bid, then I bid 30 just so the other side have to bid at least 31. Thanks, Paul, for adding the 30/indicating question. Sometime, perhaps also ask about 7's, how many play it or think it should be banned from 42. (More by Tanzenmaus.) Great page! My grandparents used to play 42 and taught me but I haven't had anyone to play with for a very long time. They were good Baptists and played 42 because they believed card playing immoral. P.S. They lived in Arkansas and surely did NOT call the game Texas 42 ;-) My wife and I have wonderful friends living in Texas and on a recent trip they commented on the great game of 42. We are off to a start, however, as they have returned home we needed help. Your web pages on Texas 42 are exactly what we needed. Sincere thanks. Just learning to play the game and I'm already addicted! Thanks for your site. I have played 42 since a child, and I love the game. Did not play much the 11 years we lived in Missouri, but since coming back to Oklahoma have started playing with friends again. A wonderful way to spend an evening. I grew up playing 42 with my Grandparents. They were from Oklahoma and we have relatives in Texas. Anytime the relatives came to visit the dominos came out and didn't get put away until they went home. My Grandparents are now deceased and I play Moon with my ex father in law. I was trying to explain 42 to him, but couldn't remember all the rules. I started surfing and came across your web site. It cleared up all the "fuzzy Parts". Thanks for making it possible to get back into the game again. My father also indicated he wanted to play 42 again, and now we will be able to. I go to A&M and play socially, but I am not comfortable with bidding. I have been playing since August and I think I am pretty good, but I still make dumb mistakes and don't realize it until the damage is done. I want to be better than my guy friends!!! THANK YOU!!!! You just may have saved a marriage. I used to play this game and loved it. Now, 15 years after moving from Texas (shedding a tear!) I want to play again. Thanks for your site! I played at the Chicken and Dudley's in the late 80's while an undergrad. I was recently in College Station for Christmas and got together with some family and played for 2-3 hours. I wish I had read your rules and strategy. I had forgotten a lot. Thanks! Excellent site. Thanks for sharing. Hello ... I saw that you had the history of the domino game 42. My great, great uncle is Walter Earl, one of the boys who invented 42. They lived in NE Texas close to where Garner is now. My great uncles and grandmother said that their parents wouldn't let them play cards b/c card playing was unexceptable back in those days so they played a card game with dominoes. My great uncles have taught my siblings and myself and cousins how to play ... Just thought I'd let ya know on some history. Later. I have spent some time on the internet today researching the Texas 42 game and I was particularly impressed with the clarity of your website. It looks as though you have a great understanding of the game and that you have a nice technique in teaching the rules. Enjoyed your 42 Web site. Our family has played its own version of 42 for over 50 years, but since we live in Arkansas, we don't call it Texas 42. Our lowest bid is 28, the highest is Game. We only use points, not marks. Would love to talk with you more about the origin of the game.We have 42 tournaments in the family, sometimes with 25-30 people attending. Children are allowed the privilege of learning 42 about age 12 -- it's a rite of passage for us! Glad to know that someone else loves the game as much as we do. I am only 13 and it is very important that I learn to play, and your method of teaching is very easy for me to understand. So, thank you! Thank you for the info on '42'! Very well written! Hey, I haven't played 42 in 17 years (living north of the Mason-Dixon line as I do now) and sort of forgot about it . . . until I ran across my old set of dominoes today. I decided I'd see if Google had any "how-to" entries, tried it and found your website. Thanks for going to the bother of writing out such clear rules. As I was reading them, the old terminology started coming back . . . I could even hear my Mississippi/Texas grandfather's voice while he and his friends played 42 when I was a kid. Now, I've got to find three others who want to learn. I have been looking for years for this site. I am so pleased to find and can play dominoes. Thank you for this site!!! Great explanation! I played 42 a ton in college but couldn't remember even the basics. It quickly came back to me after reading your thorough explanations! Thanks! I have the rules which came with my set years ago, but yours are very close and very easy for beginners to understand. Thanks for the great site!! Being from East Texas I've always felt left out at gatherings for never learning to play 42. Your site has been very helpful to me and hopefully the next time I get the chance to play...I can show my stuff!! Thank you! Hi -- just wanted to say thanks for the great web site about 42, a game my parents and I played many times in Amarillo and later after we moved to Los Angeles.I have the fondest memories of 'visiting' over a game of 42 -- we didn't care too awful much about who won -- it was just a good vehicle to get together over and to have some fun. I'm currently in the process of teaching my fiancee and a couple we are friends with how to play and your website will help a lot with that. This is an okay site. Fantastic Site - Thank You! God Bless & Long Live TEXAS! |