Dominoes Plus: The Dominoforms Handbook [Paperback]

Bill Perkins (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 18, 2001

Have you ever purchased a book on games only to find that you have the same old run-of-the-mill rules that you learned as a child? Dominoes Plus is 100+ exciting games, 90% of them original. A professional writer explains to you the complete and detailed set of rules for each game. Similar games are grouped into topical chapters, with 25 illustrations for reference (that you will remember). An appendix provides a user-friendly cross-reference for finding a game to match ages and number of players.The author begins with a history of dominoes, and throughout the book introduces the topic of Dominoforms, which explain typical features and structures of tile games. They are at once both familiar in their general styles of play and concise in their treatment. Breathe new life into those tired old checkers, card, and dice games as you combine them with dominoes in interesting new gamesthe second half of the book describes many such games. Dominoes Plus is a guidebook as much as a reference. If you dont have someone at hand eager to play, the author offers ideas on how to find a game.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Bill Perkins is an award winning honors student of Technical Writing, Illustration and Commercial Art with several years experience. He writes from the perspective of a fresh new self-help guru. He has spent many years as an illustrator for realty firms, and has been an avid student of games since he was old enough to stick a Pacheesi pawn up his nose.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: iUniverse (November 18, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0595205763
• ISBN-13: 978-0595205769
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,222,729 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

52 of 52 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Vanity Press Disaster, November 6, 2004

By 

G. Weidman (Fairfax, Va United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Dominoes Plus: The Dominoforms Handbook (Paperback)

I wish I had realized before I bought this book that the review above, written by a Mr. Perkins, is actually written by the author of the book. Try making sense of that review, and you will get a sense of the difficulty I had in trying to make sense of this book. The back cover page of this book insists that Mr. Perkins is "a professional writer." If this is so, then it high time that Mr. Perkins quit his day job. I certainly hope he has some other vocation than writing!

No review could be as damning of this book as actually quoting from it. So, here's a paragraph from pages 36-37:

"Upon reviewing the games particulars it does become evident to some students and players alike that there is a fine balance in the competition of forms involved in its designs. Between attack and defense in games and the image of the whole set and its balance between its reciprocals and the interior double set of its whole organization it is so completed. About the interior row of doubles in its number field it has 'wings' of combination tiles. Wings of ascendance! Individual tiles in the body of the 100 tiles perfectly embody individual numbers in a complete number order of a set of consecutive numbers: such examples as a 0:1 tile for the number 1 in a set of a hundred and 9:9 for a number 99 order are typical." [sic.]

Good luck to you if you can make sense of this book! His claim that there are "100+" games in the book is completely absurd. There are perhaps 6 or 7 new games in here. Now, if you believe that two games that differ only in which domino, double blanks or double six, is wild are two completely different games, then you might get to "100+" yourself. Mr. Perkins gives these two games different names ("WILDOUBLE" and "DOUBLETTO") as though they were somehow distinct. Note that words IN ALL CAPITALS figure prominently throughout the book.

By puzzling and parsing through Mr. Perkins' spaghetti text, I did manage to piece together the rules of a couple new games of dominoes that I hadn't encountered before. I doubt that he has actually test-played them, as one of them required significant modifications before it did anything except let the second player win immediately. We have started playing games that we think are somewhat similar to Mr. Perkins' MIX&MATCH, DICEMAX, and DIGADO games with some success. However, we cannot be sure as trying to decipher these writings is quite a chore.

Here's some additional text, from page 38:
"From one ordered set of 100 dominoes with some manipulations a new set emerges and another order of prescription: such is the standards for issuing the 2-dollar bill to commemorate and celebrate it: are you with me? One sees the 450 dots on one half of the set as a whole depicted and so a 500-cent bill is issued by government along with those eagles of course, O.K.? This is in keeping with the 900 dots approximately representing $10.00. 'Count' and 'account', as terms of expression are good qualities that may change our lives for the good at best. Surely we will want to include them in our study of these numbers. Count on them!"

The place in the text where he explains that he believes that by mastering domino forms he will become more attractive to women is particularly embarassing.

Don't buy this book.

0 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars DOMINOES PLUS - I can tell you more! I'll tell you all too!, June 4, 2002

By 

"bilihara" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dominoes Plus: The Dominoforms Handbook (Paperback)

DOMINOES PLUS - What is DOMINOES PLUS all about? Get this:

+ The first complete universal game system for domino for the whole family, the complete gamester, kingdom and country in the history of the sport today! It is on a par with what you typically get when you get one of those 10-in-1 gamesets of multiple games with as much game in it as in a complete video-electronic game system such as a Gamecube or Playstation too - YOU BET. (From 6 years to 60 and beyond too). No other book available today completely examines the individual parts of particular merit and note to such a high degree as is in DOMINOES PLUS! Get it all too!

+ Selection, selection, selection! The biggest and best selection of number of games for domino anywhere (previously and today) with 100+ games! Simply good fun for everyone from about 1 to 1/2 a dozen friends in games! (You the man? GET IT ON)! It is all about selection and getting it right too! Count on it!

+ It is a complete reassessment and readdress of all the important sundry parts of domino kingdom, rebuilding the game as by piece by piece to a whole new level of involvement (with never before seen exclusive decimalized KING-SIZED sets of domino based of an ordinal digit number usage for a new style of import). It begins with just one domino as a supertrump and expanding on that in all the many directions of all formalities for play! The author took 10 years of study and deliberation to compose it all. NOTE: Sheesh, no other nation on earth has this modern domino technology for game yet but in DOMINOES PLUS, (and it may be worth the World's Record of it too)! It has an University level competition of subscription to find but even a child may learn some game too in its BASIC GAMES chapter too! It must count as pretty darn good!

So this all counts too:

100+ original exclusive new games for domino (easy to play and remember),

2nd PART in book that features DICE, POKER CHIPS, PLAYING CARDS, GAME BOARDS & more game sets in combination with DOMINO sets too (you can't begin to get anything like it anywhere else, and thats a fact, Mac)! All carefully explained for family use.

The Double 9's set of games have as many games inside this book as any double 6's tiled sets elsewhere in any other treatment of this topic by other authors!

Digitally remastered technology of domino sets new to today! It is simply a marvelous plus of lots of fun!

+ Numerous sources of games of domino listed and mentioned for the students usage (plus many commentaries relevant to the sport too). It should help to improve anyones game - so work on it!

+ Domino as Information Age info categorically and completely examined - this is not your fathers old boy scout dominoes and you can pick it up. It is how everything works! Mechanics and usage of typical domino tiles as in games featured in same topiced chapters such as: Chpt. 4: GAMES USING DOUBLES, Chpt. 5: COUNTING GAMES, Chpt. 7: DIFFERENT LAYOUT GAMES, PART II, (of 4 chapters): DOMINOES AND OTHER GAMES COMBINED - all well covered! Welcome to the club! (If you play they will come).

New featured games (join the club) and uses for domino fun such as:

Chpt. 3: MAGIC SQUARES PUZZLES (solitaire and group fun)

Chpt. 6: GAMES PLAYED WITH BAGS (exclusive 10+ such games)

KING-SIZED domino sets digitally remastered for modern days and new great days for the sport and everyone too with 100+ games featured with them too! It is all covered! Get with it too!

NONSPINSET (by name) doubles games with "trump" dominoes (2x12+ more exclusive such games to select from and play)! This is that supertrump that builds into classic dominoes new import and sport for new days to come! Get it all!

... And of course much, much more to get... if they play, they win!

...So DOMINOES PLUS is therefore everything about domino and more, all it is supposed to be as such about domino in none-the-less all the best terms appreciable for all with all the options and selections anyone might want and with all the bells and whistles to surprise you. And it is readily accessible to anyone who chooses to find domino today! CHECK IT OUT!

Remember this: only DOMINOES PLUS puts forth (as it is set forth in its pages) a complete system for domino relevant to modern number usage (and backs it up point by point all in the money too with monetary and economics relevance (of market) with it too)! No one else does this - it is a BIG turn over folks! For LOVE and MONEY too - get it on! It is about new technology, manipulating and crunching numbers as typical forms of use for gain and gaining the advantages with learning about fun in games too! It starts out real easy to find and play with just one domino then it goes on to show you a whole domino world! You'll find it so therein! It is all established as in principle and in fact too therein - and I just thought you all ought to know it too! Sound GOOD? CHECK IT ALL OUT THEN!