THE PUERTO RICAN DRAWING GAME

AN INTRODUCTION TO THE PUERTO RICAN DRAWING GAME

The Puerto Rican Drawing Game is a special type of domino game that can be played by 2 to 3 players. The main objective of the game is to be the first player to score the required number of points and emerge as the winner.

PREPARING FOR THE GAME

To get started, the dominoes are thoroughly mixed, and each player is dealt a hand of 7 tiles. The remaining dominoes make up what is called the “boneyard,” but it’s important to note that the last two tiles cannot be drawn from it.

HOW TO PLAY

The game begins with the player who has the double 6 tile or the highest double tile. This player will start the “train” by placing their tile on the table. Going in a counterclockwise direction, each player takes turns adding tiles to either end of the train. The tile that is placed at the end of the train must match the number on the side it connects to.

When it’s my turn to play, I have to make sure that I play a tile. If I can’t play a tile right away, I need to draw some from the boneyard. But I can only do that if there are more than 2 tiles left in the boneyard. So I keep drawing until I have a tile I can play. And of course, my turn will always end with me playing a tile, unless there are no more tiles left in the boneyard.

Once there are only two tiles left in the draw pile, I can’t draw any more tiles. If I can’t play a tile on my turn, then I have to pass.

When I play a double, I place it in the center of the train, but it doesn’t branch out.

The game keeps going until someone plays their last domino or no one can play a domino to the train.

SCORING

When the round ends, I count the number of pips left in my hand. If I don’t have any dominoes left in my hand, then I have 0 points.

So, here’s how the game works: the person with the lowest pip value is the winner of the round! They get to score the sum of everyone else’s pip values, minus their own. If there’s a tie, then no one scores for that round.

The game goes on until someone reaches the target score. For a game with 2 players, the target score is 100 points. But if you’re playing with 3 players, the target score is 61 points.

Now, here’s an interesting twist: the winner of the previous round becomes the leading player for the next round. If there’s a tie, then it’s the highest double that leads again. But, some versions of the game have a different rule, where the player who blocked last becomes the next leader.

END OF ROUND

And let me tell you, when a player reaches the target score, that’s it – the game is over! They’re the big winner!