Forty-two is based on Whist, which is why it does not have 'contract' bidding, but "once-around" bidding.
(Would be easier to learn to bid with contract bidding, where you start low, and go around the table until you get three sequential "Pass" calls--at least, that's my 2¢.)

I only learned my 'head year (1979), and have played ever since.

Was a fixture of Northgate for the longest time, peaking about '90 to '98 or so, and slowly dying on the vine after that.

(For those who have not been back to our Rodina, I was in town on a Friday night, 23 march, about 2200; there were 4 people playing 42, all of them in Dudley's--that was it; the Monday-night tourneys are all long gone.)

But, some of us remember; some of us play (some will gather to that end in Arlington a couple Saturday's from now, too.)

Seems like I remember the guys also playing 84 and "Shoot the Moon" but remember nothing about them.

Hallettsville - Texas State 42 Championship occurs annually.

Moon is a domino game similar to 42 but bidding is based on the number of tricks you can catch and not how many points you catch. There are no teams so you can play with 3 people.

I'm not sure if any of y'all had seen this.

http://texags.com/main/forum.reply.asp?forum_id=30&topic_id=2091273&page=1&nomobile=1

Looks promising.

I haven't been to northgate on a Monday night in years. That is dissapointing to hear that there are no tournaments.

Oh, and the above link seems pretty interesting. Hopefully he finds a way to make it multi player.

Me and my roommate from Schumacher Hall and a couple friends would go over to the Dixie Chicken, as early as 1975, and certainly by 1976, and play "42". I don't recall seeing any "42" games being played there before we started....everyone looked at us a little funny because why would anybody be playing a dominoe game in a bar that already had other entertainment (pool tables). We would bring in some snacks to eat, but we would buy the longnecks from the Chicken, so I guess that is why the management would tolerate us. At the time the Chicken only had pickles (in a large jar) and cheese to serve the guests, and we got tired of that pretty quick so we brought our own snacks. It would seem that we introduced the "42" playing to the Chicken. I never knew that it became popular there until reading some of these posts.

Some of us would also play "42" at the Civil Engineering building between class. There was a room that was a student lounge....nothing fancy. There were probably three or four tables that had drawers under them that held the dominoes. When you were done with the game you would store the dominoes in the drawers, and they were always waiting for us when we would return. We never thought about anybody taking them. I remember playing there in 1976 -1978, because by 1978 I had graduated.. A friend recently showed me a picture he took during that time frame of me playing at the CE building. My impression at the time was that "42" had been played there for years.

slrigdad said:

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Me and my roommate from Schumacher Hall and a couple friends would go over to the Dixie Chicken, as early as 1975, and certainly by 1976, and play "42". I don't recall seeing any "42" games being played there before we started....everyone looked at us a little funny because why would anybody be playing a dominoe game in a bar that already had other entertainment (pool tables). We would bring in some snacks to eat, but we would buy the longnecks from the Chicken, so I guess that is why the management would tolerate us. At the time the Chicken only had pickles (in a large jar) and cheese to serve the guests, and we got tired of that pretty quick so we brought our own snacks. It would seem that we introduced the "42" playing to the Chicken. I never knew that it became popular there until reading some of these posts.

Some of us would also play "42" at the Civil Engineering building between class. There was a room that was a student lounge....nothing fancy. There were probably three or four tables that had drawers under them that held the dominoes. When you were done with the game you would store the dominoes in the drawers, and they were always waiting for us when we would return. We never thought about anybody taking them. I remember playing there in 1976 -1978, because by 1978 I had graduated.. A friend recently showed me a picture he took during that time frame of me playing at the CE building. My impression at the time was that "42" had been played there for years.

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Interesting thread.

The most interesting part, though, is how did you, as a Rookie poster, resurrect it after 5 years with posts?!?!

Witchcraft?

Interesting thread. I'm always fascinated how things become a way of life due to their popularity in some regions of the country while other areas go their entire lives never even hearing of it.

I grew up on the same plot of land in Rusk county (northeast Texas) where my great great grandfather was born and raised (and every generation thereafter). I learned 42 from my mom, who learned from her dad (WWII vet), who learned from his dad, who said he'd grown up playing it as a child. Who knows when 42 made it to Rusk County, but it had to be as early as the turn of the century or so.

In high school, we played 42 all the time. Black kids typically played dominoes and white kids typically played 42, although we played each other's games with each other all the time. It was just what we did.

When I got to A&M in 1994, it blew my mind that almost none of the other guys in my outfit had ever heard of it. They all knew dominoes, but I always grew up thinking 42 was more popular than dominoes...and more of the "adult" version of a kids game. In my mind, 42 was to dominoes as Spades was Old Maid. One was a kid's game, but you graduated to the older game by the time you were a teenager.

Although they all made fun of me when I suggested 42 when I arrived in 1994, by 1996 they were all 42 addicts getting their fix a few times a week in the dorm or at the Chicken.

Very much a staple of family reunions, Thanksgivings and Christmas when I was a kid (late 60's, early 70's). None of the old folks were Aggies or even came close to attending any college. I learned to play from my grandfather. He could tell what you had in your hand from what you played. Very frustrating. Hadn't played in 20 plus years.

Interesting to see my current Aggie student son and buddies playing at their house.

That's interesting. I'm about your same age, grew up a few hours north of you, and in our family/area dominoes was the "men's" game, and 42 was more something that a husband and wife might play with another couple (84 when there were 3 couples total) on a quiet night of catching up.

I had seen It played some before I got to A&M but it definitely wasn't something a young man grew up jonesing to learn how to play. But when a young man got a seat at the grown men's domino game.....WOW.....you knew you had moved to a new level of manhood. At A&M I got a few crash lessons in the dorm my freshman year from some other CT's and then it was extremely proliphic during my time there in the mid-late 90's.

One of my mentors while there was a man Class of 52. He was a campus minister for one of the bigger churches in the area and would play 42 from time to time with the college kids. While most of the students thought he loved 42 he really only played with them as a way to interact socially. If you really wanted to make his eyes light up, you played one on one, heads up dominoes (furthering my perspective that it was a "men's" game). Ironically of the 200-300 college students in the college ministry, only myself and one other guy could play that kind of dominoes at an adult level, which put us on a different level in his eyes.

This is what I learned about when 42 began at Texas A&M (better late than never):
http://texas42.net/aggiefeedback.html. - PP

http://texas42.net/aggiefeedback.html

I hadn't seen this thread before and love the stories on here. My Dad's side of the family was always big 42 players. As a kid I remember multiple card tables set up at Thanksgiving and they'd set up a tournament. None of them were Aggies except me. My Dad could definitely tell you what was in your hand on most hands. I can pull it off occasionally towards the end.