Dominoes
To skip instructions, click here 
to play
NEW! Version 2.11
Revised 6/22/2000
This revision has been three years in the making. As many users have pointed
out, Dominoes does not work properly with Netscape >3 or Internet
Explorer >3. The first doesn't let you play at all, and the second makes
you start over for each game. I hadn't done much Java programming over the past
couple of years, but I
finally got hold of Symantec's VisualCafé and decided to do an update.
The present version should work with all recent browsers. (The
old version is still available if there are still users of Netscape/ IE 3
out there.) I've simplified the code in a few
places and made an enhancement or two, but, as former users will see, the
computer still uses the same old strategy that should allow a decent player to
win most of the time. As always I welcome your comments and suggestions.
Rules
The rules of Dominoes in this implementation are very simple. There are 28 dominoes, from double-blank
to double-six. You and your opponent each start with seven. The highest
double goes first, or lacking one, the highest point total. Players then
take turns playing one domino next to a matching number on one already
played. If you can't play, you must pick from the stock, and when the stock
is exhausted, you pass. The winner is either the first to get rid of all
one's dominoes, or the one with the smallest point total when both players
have passed. A game is 50 points.
Instructions
Your hand is in the lower left part of the screen. The computer's hand
and the stock are respectively at the upper left and right. The computer will
always play if it can, so it's always your turn. To play a domino,
use the mouse; the domino is played only on the up click. If you can't play from
your hand,
use the Pick/Pass button. If you need to choose on which side to
play, you must set the Right or Left radio button. In contrast to
the previous version, if the appropriate button is already set, you need not
press it again. Pressing the Restart button restarts the game and
resets the score to 0. After a hand is finished, click the same button to play More;
at the end of a game, to play Another game. Quit takes you back to
this page.
Special thanks to John DeCuir and his Spring 1996 UCLA Java
course!
Eric
Gans / gans@humnet.ucla.edu
Last updated 6/22/00
To play, click on the Domino
