BONES

The game is played with a set of 6-domino bones. The bones have two halves, each of which is marked with the proper number of pips. The set contains only one permutation of pips on both halves.

There are 28 bones in the set and each half can be numbered from 0 to 6. All the permutations are presented below:

GAMEPLAY

The game is started by a player who has drawn a double bone with the most points (a bone with the same number of points on both halves). Players obtain seven bones each and the remaining ones are put in the so-called Boneyard. Bones are taken from the Boneyard when a player does not have a suitable bone among his ones.

The player who starts the game puts the drawn bone on the table. Another player can put only such a bone on the table that matches one side of the bone that has just been put onto the table, i.e.:

or

The next player can put only such a bone that matches the bone half at the end of the chain. Halves mach each other when they have the same number of points.

If a player does not have the matching bone, he must take a bone from the Boneyard.

He takes bones until he finds a matching bone or until all the Boneyard bones are taken. If there are no more Boneyard bones left and the player still does not have the required bone, he is "blocked" and loses the game.

or	or	or
If Player 1 puts e.g. a 4-5 bone, Player 2 can put a bone that has 4 or 5 points on its half.		Player 2 can put a double bone 4 or double bone 5, which becomes the "Spinner". There is only one "Spinner" in each round and it is always the one placed on the table.

A player gets points if all the chain ends sum up to a total number that can be divided by 5. The sum of points at the end of chains is called the "Board Count" and it is displayed under the number of bones left in the Boneyard. If a player puts the bone in such a way that he obtains the "Board Count" that is divisible by 5, the sum is added to his or her points.

The game can consist of several rounds and it is played until one of the players obtains 100, 250, 500, or 1000 points.

If a round finished with a stalemate (no Boneyard bones left and no possibility to put any bones), another round starts with drawing a double bone.

If a round is finished by one of the players having no more bones, he wins and starts another round putting any bone on the table.

SCORING

The game is played until one of the players gets 100, 250, 500 or 1000 points.

Points are obtained when:

1.The "Board Count" is divisible by 5. Then the sum is added to the player's points, e.g. when the chain ends are 6, 6 and 3, the player receives 15 points.

2.Having finished the round (when one of the players has no more bones), the points of the bones left to the other player are counted, rounded up or down to 5 and added to the round winner's points;

3.When a round finishes in a stalemate (no Boneyard bones left and no possibility to put any bones):

In case of all stalemates, the number of bone points left on the other player's hand is subtracted from the number of bone points left on the winner's hand, the figure is rounded up or down to 5 and added to the winner's points.

GAME MODES

The best of 10 games

The "Fives Up" option is switched off in this mode. Players do not receive any points during the game but the number of points on bones left on hand is counted at the end of each round. The player who has the most points loses and the number of points is summed up and rounded up or down to 5 and added to the opponent's points. The game is played in 10 rounds. The player who has got the most points after the tenth round wins.

The game for points with "Fives Up"

In this game mode the "Fives Up" option is switched on. Players play the game until they get 100, 250, 500 or 1000 points. The game may consist of several rounds. Points are counted for "Fives Up" as well as the number of loser's bone points is calculated, rounded up or down and added to the opponent's points at the end of each game.

The game for points without "Fives Up"

The "Fives Up" option is switched off in this mode. Players play the game until they get 100, 250, 500 or 1000 points. The game may consist of several rounds. Points are counted ONLY at the end of each round. The number of loser's bone points is calculated, rounded up or down and added to the opponent's points.

GLOSSARY