The true history of Dominoes does seem to be akin to a big pot of facts, covered with a lid of confusion! The true origins of Dominoes remains unclear. In the West, there seems to be no record of Dominoes Games being played, right up until late in the eighteenth century. When the game first appeared in Italy and France. It was later that Dominoes Sets appeared in the rest of Europe. Moving over to England, and then ‘exported’ to America. Apparently, Texan, President Johnson was an avid Domino fan! The standard Double Six Dominoes is the traditional, twenty eight Tile pack, which has always been favoured by the West. However, the West were way behind the Chinese, who had been playing Dominoes Games for centuries beforehand. This is where confusion number one comes in! No-one really seems to know whether Double Six Dominoes were an independent invention of the West. Or whether they were actually reproduced from the Chinese. It might seem likely, however, it is ‘unproven’..
Historians do state, a thirty two piece Chinese Set was recorded in 1120AD. However, that is, by no means, the oldest Dominoes Sets ever found. When Tutankhamen’s Tomb was discovered, so was the oldest Domino Set in the world. King Tutankhamen was the eighteenth dynasty king of Egypt. Dating this set around 1350BC. So whether the West copied the game from the Chinese or not, the Egyptians were before everyone! It seems Dominoes Games was the pastime of Kings, long before either the West or the Chinese even thought about it. But the Egyptians were a civilisation based on mathematical equations, so it only seems right that they were, so obviously, first! Over the centuries many varieties of the game, and the sets, have evolved.. All around the world. Yet the facts do seem to indicate, Dominoes Sets, as known in the Western world, were a Chinese Invention. But the plot still continues to thicken!
Forgetting about Tutankhamen, and the West’s Double Six Dominoes. Let’s concentrate on Chinese Dominoes Games for a moment, and their development.. Chinese Sets are a little different. Dice were introduced into China from India, many centuries ago. Original Chinese Domino Tiles are believed to be derived from them. Each Domino representing any combination brought about by throwing the said dice. Effectively, all those combinations were transferred onto one Tile. That is, the Tile which we now know as a Domino! But there are several notable differences between a Chinese, and a Western Domino. Most obvious, is the physical.. A Chinese Domino is not rectangular, it’s slightly longer. The other big difference are the zero‘s. Only Western Sets have those! The Chinese have duplicates, the other’s do not. Curiously enough, Chinese Dominoes actually developed so many variations, it became Mahjong! A game which only recently swept the States, as it did in the Twenties. But do you know what the ‘new Majong’ is? One of the most popular Dominoes Games around, the Mexican Train! So if you don’t know what that is yet, you’d better go get yourself wise!
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