42
Jayme
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Make your choices and click "Start"












Sarah
Sam
You
  • To Win: 100
  • Scores
  • Trumps:
  • Us:
    0
  • Them:
    0

Overview

42 is a game played with a double six set of dominoes. It plays much like the card games Spades or Bridge. It has suits, trumps, bidding, and is played with partners. The player across the table is your partner. Your points are combined to determine the score.

If you would more information on the origins of the game, click here to see the article in Wikipedia.

How scoring works

  • Scoring in 42 is based on dealing 7 dominoes to each of four players
  • There are seven turns , each known as a "trick", where each player plays one domino and the highest domino wins
  • One point is awarded for each "trick" won
    • There are also five special dominoes worth points called "count"
    • three that are worth 5 points each
    • two that are worth 10 points each
    • for a total of 35 points
  • 35 points of "count" plus 7 points in "tricks" makes a total of 42 points per hand
  • Each hand starts with a round of "bidding" with all four players declaring how many of those 42 points they think they will take
  • The highest bidder wins the right to declare which suit is the trumps
  • The tricks are played, the winner of the hand is determined, and the score is recorded until one team has won

How do I bid?

The minimum bid is 30 points. Each player bids in turn, clockwise from the dealer, with the dealer going last. To win the bid, each player must bid higher than the player who bid before them. Any player may elect not to bid by bidding "pass". (The exception to this is if all three players pass, the dealer must bid at least 30.) The team of the player who bids the highest must take at least the number points bid or they go "set" and lose the number points they bid.

A starting strategy for determining what to bid is:

  • If you have a double and at least two more dominoes in the same suit as the double
  • !!!! AND !!!!
  • If you have another double
  • You might bid 30 or 31

As you play and gain experience you will figure out your own bidding strategy.

What is a "suit"?

A suit is determined each trick by the first domino played. Each following player must play a domino in that suit if they have one. If either end of the first domino played is the trump suit, then the suit is trumps. If the first domino played is not a trump, then the suit is whichever end is higher. If the player does not have a domino in the current suit, they may play any other domino in their hand.

NOTES:
  • If the domino in your hand that is in the current suit is also a trump, you do not have to play it unless the current suit is trumps
  • If the domino in your hand that is in the current suit is also a trump, and you have another domino in your hand that is in the current suit, you must play the one that is not a trump

What is a "trump"?

Trumps are the suit in each hand that are higher than any other domino not in the trump suit. The person who bids the highest gets to declare which suit is trumps. The only domino that beats a trump is a higher trump.

What is a "trick"?

A trick is one round of each player playing a domino.

What is "count"?

Count is a domino that is divisible by five. The blank/five, one/four, two/three, double five, and six/four are the count dominoes. They are each worth their face value.

Frequently Asked Questions

    • Q: Do I have to follow suit?
    • A: Yes, unless the domino in question is also a trump.
    • Q: Do I have to bid?
    • A: You may choose "pass" to keep from bidding. The only exception to that is when you are the dealer and everyone else has passed you must bid at least 30.
    • Q: Should I bid if my partner has the bid?
    • A: If you feel your hand has a strong chance of winning, then yes. Otherwise, it may be better to take the role of supporting their bid.
    • Q: Why does the computer sometimes make wrong moves?
    • A: The logic controlling the computer's choices is still being improved. In the mean time, those mistakes add a dash of randomness just like playing with people who are learning the game.

42


Brought to you by:

colemine software, llc

www.coleminesoftware.com

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42


Brought to you by:

colemine software, llc

www.coleminesoftware.com

The purpose of this project was to demonstrate the following:
    • Organized presentation layer featuring:
    • Well formed XHTML
    • CSS2 and CSS3 elements using unique ids with classes, and shared ids with classes
    • Use of sprite file to deliver images
    • CSS buttons with custom jQuery event handlers
    • Javascript/jQuery to accomplish animated game play
    • Dynamic updating of DOM elements with both HTML and CSS
    • jQuery for both presentation and game logic
    • AJAX/JSON to communicate with the server component
    • Maintain the business logic on the server
    • Written in PHP
    • Game state maintained in an object on the server
    • Object updated via AJAX POST request state engine
    • Game state sent back to browser as JSON stream
© 2012 colemine software, llc