EVER WONDER by Jacque Scott: Forty-Two

Forty-Two

This week I wondered WHY about something.  I have friends in Montana that enjoy playing board games and especially dominoes.

But, when I mentioned Forty-Two, they came back at me with WHAT?  I even questioned friends in other states and got the same kind of response.  It seems that no-one outside of Texas or at least near-by states has even heard of the domino game of Forty-Two.  But we here in Texas sure have.   Forty-Two is a trick-taking game, kind­ of like bridge, but played with dominoes.  Well, today, let’s see if we can find out  a little about this Texas Domino game.

But, first, let’s find out a little about the history or origin of the game of dominoes itself.

Dominoes are descendants of dice. The two ends on each of the original Chinese dominoes represented one of the 21 possible combinations that can occur with the throw of a pair of dice.

However, modern western dominoes have blank ends on them as well so that the number of dominoes is generally 28.  Chinese dominoes today do not have blanks but do have some whole tiles duplicated.  Western dominoes are rectangles that are twice as long as they are wide.  There is a single tile for each combination of the faces of a pair of dice.  The blank suit is the throw of a single die.  Thus there are a total of 28 tiles in the standard Double six set.

These 28 tiles are called bones, cards, tiles, stones, spinners or dominoes.  Each bone is a rectangular tile with a line dividing its face into two square ends. Each end is marked with a number of black spots (also called pips) or is blank. The spots are generally arranged as they are on six-sided dice.  Because there are also blank ends having no spots there are normally seven possible faces.  Standard domino sets have ends ranging from zero spots to six spots (double six set).  The back side of a domino is usually plain. Dominoes have been made of bone, ivory, plastic, metal and wood.

The word ‘domino’ actually comes from dominus in Latin meaning master of the house.  Domino first referred to a type of monastic hood, then to a hooded masquerade costume, then to the mask itself, and finally to one of the pieces in the domino set, namely the tile.

Some say that the dominoes name may have actually come from the Dominican Republic.  It seems that the dark spots on the white faces reminded them of masquerade masks.  The eyeholes were called dominoes and maybe that’s how the game pieces got their names.

Tile games have been found in China as early as 1120 CE when a statesman invented them and presented them to the emperor who ordered that they be circulated far and wide.

The game didn’t show up in Europe until the 18th century and was probably introduced in Naples or Venice.  A single domino was found with the Mary Rose wreckage in the early 16th century, but it likely found its way there much later.

There is so much evidence for games in the 16th and 17th centuries that if dominoes had existed then they would not have escaped the records.

Did you know that dominoes cannot be played on Sunday in Alabama?  It is against the law.  And in England, it is common for players to stand their tiles in two rows so they can pick them up with one hand and have the other free to drink a pint of ale.  Oh my………

NOW, what we have all been waiting for.  Forty-Two, the trick taking card game with four players in partnerships, was invented in 1887 in Trappe Springs (now Garner), Texas by 12 year old William Thomas and 14 year old Walter Earl.

These were two fundamentalist Baptists who were caught playing Auction Whist (an early form of Bridge) with playing cards and were punished for it by their parents.  Fundamentalist Baptists regarded playing cards as “Devil’s Picture Book” and did not allow card games, but had no such restrictions on domino games.  I think this same story is told about the origin of Farkle but that’s another game…

So…There you have it. God bless you.   

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