An Introduction to Backgammon and Dominoes

By Jake Stevens

With Christmas just around the corner, there are plenty of games you can play with the family to have some fun together - why not choose something traditional like Dominoes or Backgammon?

Here's a quick intro to both games.

Dominoes

Dominoes are small rectangular objects that feature a number of pips on each end - for the most common sets, up to six. These pips correspond to the roll of a die, and they can be used in a number of ways depending on the game you are playing. Generally speaking, there are 28 potential combinations of pairings of numbers when the dominoes are placed next to each other (including blanks).

When talking about one particular domino, you refer to it in terms of its number of pips, in ascending order. So for example, for a tile with 6 pips on one end and 2 on the other, it would be known as a "two, six".

The tiles are referenced in terms of 'heaviness' and 'lightness' with a 'six-six' being the heaviest and the double blank being the very lightest.

As in card games, each domino end will be a part of a suit. In the average set, there are 7 suits. The doubles only belong to a single suit, whereas the rest of the dominos belong to two.

The dominoes should always be shuffled before starting play, to make sure that everyone playing receives a random selection. This is done most easily by laying them all down face down on a table and moving them around the surface until they are all mixed up. Now you know the basics, you can find out how to play some of the many games for dominoes by searching for "All Fives", "Fortress", "Sebastopol" or "Solitaire".

Backgammon

A game for two people, Backgammon is very challenging, fun and perhaps one of the oldest board games still widely played today. Games typically don't last too long, so it's still a good one to enjoy with the family over the festive season.

There are many different terms used to refer to the pieces in this game, so for the sake of simplicity I will refer to them only as checkers.

The surface of the board is made up of 24 long triangles, or 'points', which are usually in alternating colours. The 24 are thought of in four groups, and for each player two of these groups are known as the home board and two the outer board, with this reversed for the opponent.

In between these two sides is a bar separating them, and for each opponent the triangles are numbered from left to right as 1 to 24. Again, this is is also the same for the opponent so from each perspective the triangles have different numbers.

Each player has 15 checkers each, and the game begins with these checkers been organised thus: 5 on each 6 point, 3 on each 8 point, 5 on each 13 point and 2 on each 24 point. Both players require a pair of dice and a doubling cube.

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Collecting Civil War Toy Soldiers? It Is Great For Little And Big Boys Alike

By Glen Schmit

For over two millenia, army men and toy soldiers have held a special place in children's hearts. They enjoy making pretend battles of famous wars wherever thay find a place to set them up. Toy soldiers are a source of fascination and excitement with boy of all ages.

People have used small human figures as teaching aids forever. I am sure the first human mothers taught their daughters about raising babies and families with dolls. Males used miniature animals to educate their sons how to stalk and kill beasts in the wild. Using these aids allowed proper techniques to be transferred safely and quickly, with no risk to the hunter, improving the hunting success. The Roman Legionnaires were probably instructed in this same manner all of their lives.

As mankind has evolved with time, so have his educational playthings. The simple carved hunters and warriors of prehistoric history have given way to more evolved toys of a modern era. There has been a special fascination with toy soldiers and miniature armies throughout history. Collecting these military miniatures has never been more popular. These army men are classics and their uniforms and equipment are studied almost as much as the wars in which they fought. This love of collecting and the lore of war, can still have grown men playing around their tabletop battlefields or on their knees leading their tiny troops.

Pair this with the American fascination of the Civil War and you have an amazing field of collecting. There are civil war toy soldiers and items you can buy that are representative of famous battles of that great conflict. Weather you are a American history collector or a battle strategist, nothing can compare with the thrill of collecting civil war toy soldiers.

Of course you know this means war. Pick a fight and stand your ground: Vicksburg, Bull Run, or the most important battle of the civil war, Gettysburg. Find collectible civil war toy soldiers from both sides and fight for your chosen side. Let the South win for a change.

You can collect troops, cavalry, wagons, horses, field hospitals, just about anything a standing army would need, even volunteers. There are collectible toy soldier items from both sides of this bloody conflict, that identify the exact outfit they come from. If you want to collect famous generals, you can choose from either side: Grant, Sherman, Sheridan for the North and Lee, Jackson and Pickett from the South.

There is a strong market for antique civil war toy soldiers since the war was fought during the middle of the next too the last century. These antiques are very dear to collectors and their high prices reflect it. These usually lead antique civil war toy soldiers were painted by hand.

The modern, plastic toy soldier has taken over the collector's market these days. Plastic toy soldiers can be bought with or without being painted. You can paint your army men whatever colors you want to let you choose the side he will fight. Put a grey great coat, grey riding hat and sash and he becomes the leader of the First Virginia unit. Paint your horseman blue, and he could be an officer for the 3rd Ohio Cavalry.

Any way you look at the spirit of collecting them, playing armchair general or creating realistic dioramas, civil war toy soldiers can be a fascinating and educational hobby for boys of all ages. You probably don't want to tell them that they are learning something thought, they hate that.

About the Author:

Glen Schmit has been collecting civil war toy soldiers from a somewhatearly age traveling with his parents to his first antique auction. He has a large array of both southern and northern army men and enjoys sharing his knowledge of this historical period of America. Find out more about rare pieces and even civil war chess sets at his website, http://www.civilwartoysoldiers.net

Top 10 Christmas Presents For Families

By Owen Jones

What do people give for Christmas and are those gifts any different from thirty or forty years ago? Naturally, there are games around now that did not even exist thirty or forty years ago. In this article, I want to take a look at some of the most popular Christmas gifts of all time. They are not in any particular order, merely as they occur to me

Number 1: the number one desirable Christmas gift for sons and fathers for almost a hundred years is the train set. There have been toy train sets for more than a hundred years, but they were rather too costly for working class families until about the 1950's. There are still more boys and fathers wanting train sets than mothers and daughters. A decent train set will last decades and rise in value.

Number 2: a rocking horse. All children like rocking horses. Boys and girls; girls seem to retain their fascination with horses longer than boys do, in Europe anyway. This present has staying power lasting for a number of years even if it is used by numerous siblings. A decent rocking horse can be passed down generations.

Number 3: doll's houses and toy forts. All kids like to play with either a dolls' house and dolls or a fort and soldiers. A Wendy House and a tree house are in this bracket as well. You can see children all over the world building make-believe houses and imitating their parents' life.

Number 4: dolls; both sexes like to play with dolls of one kind or another: teddy bears, rag dolls, action men, Barbie and Ken and toy soldiers are all dolls

Number 5: a doll's pram is still a big favourite with young girls - imitating mum transporting her baby about. Similarly toy pedal cars, which are well-liked with young boys and young girls alike.

Number 6: bikes and tricycles are also popular with boys and girls of all ages. We appear to all have an early desire to travel at a speed faster than walking pace.

Number 7: board games have been popular for thousands of years. Roman soldiers used to play a game comparable to ludo and chess has been around for roughly as long as that as well. Nowadays, there are hundreds of other board games as well, some of which have become classics already. Some of the board games that have been popular since they were invented are: Monopoly, Scrabble, Cluedo and Risk and there are many more besides that as well.

Number 8: cards. The original games of cards were nearly all gambling games or could be gambled on, but for decades there have been children's decks of cards meant to create some children's card games like Snap and Happy Families more simple and more fun.

Number 9: shoot-'em-ups. Boys have always liked shooting. At the outset cork guns or toy bows and arrows or toy crossbows; then air guns, then paint ball and then genuine guns.

Number 10: costumes; Children like to dress up, whether girls dress in mum's clothing and boys dress as Batman; girls dress as nurses or boys dress as Superman, all kids dress up at some time or other in their lives.

To this list of more conventional toys, you can add the modern number ones like computers and gaming machines, but then they have been about for thirty or forty years already as well.

About the Author:

Owen Jones, the writer of this article, writes on several topics, but is now concerned with Silver Cross Rocking Horses. If you want to know more, please visit our web site at Rocking Horses for sale.

Baby Boomers As Grandparents

By Owen Jones

The children of the so-called Baby Boomer generation, those born in the twelve years or so after the Second World War, are now grandparents and one of the jobs of being a grandparent is to dote on one's grandchildren. Baby boomers belong to the wealthiest generation that the West has ever seen and that is a good thing, because all this doting is fairly expensive.

Baby boomers were lucky because their parents survived the worst war the world has ever seen and their parents knew unprecedented wealth as the world rebuilt itself after the destruction of the war. Needless to say a great deal of the wealth that baby boomers' parents were earning was spent on their children, giving them what they had never had themselves.

This meant that a great deal of baby boomers had way too much: rocking horses, dolls' prams, toy forts, train sets, dolls' houses, you name it. Nothing was too much for the generation of hope from the generation who had had nothing.

Now, fifty odd years later, those baby boomers are grandparents. But not just grandparents - the wealthiest generation of grandparents that the world has ever seen and the way things are going, the wealthiest generation of grandparents that the world will see for a generation or two to come as the Western world struggles to pay off the mountains of debt that the banking crisis cost us.

However, money has a way of burning holes in pockets and grandparents like to dote and spoil their grand kids, so grandchildren, especially young grandchildren are being given the type of gifts by their grandparents that the grandparents enjoyed themselves: rocking horses, dolls' prams, toy forts et cetera are seeing a come-back big time.

The generation in between missed out, in general, on these old fashioned toys, but look on Amazon or eBay and see what is most popular now - it is contemporary versions of the old stuff, traditional toys. One of the reasons why traditional toys are so popular is because they are timeless.

Yes, a computer is a great gift - it is both a games machine and it can be educational, but it will be too slow to run next year's games, whereas children will play with a rocking horse for ten years and then it can be handed on.

However, boomer grandparents were not just brought up on traditional toys, the Fifties and Sixties also saw a tremendous advance in science - nuclear science and the journey into space enthralled most people. Yes, it was a time of uncertainty and distrust as well because or the Arms Race with the Soviet Bloc, but that was not what most people talked about.

Music and science were the issues of the day. Flower power, hippies and a contemporary, clean, bright way of life powered by new technology. Educational toys were well-liked gifts: Lego, Meccano and chemistry sets.

Toys of this type are becoming popular as baby boomer grandparent gifts as well. Lego sells one Lego set every seven seconds of each day of each year, day and night! This is a new trend, or at least, it is a revived trend and definitely a step in the right direction. Baby boomers may not have been the best parents, but they are pretty decent grandparents.

About the Author:

Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on several subjects, but is now involved with Silver Cross Rocking Horses. If you want to know more, please visit our web site at Rocking Horses for sale.

The Latest And Best In Board Games

By Max Golden

New Zealand has always been a place for family. Board Games have a way of bringing people together and now they can do so much more. With the latest ones you have even more hours of fun and they are more exciting than ever.

When we think of them, we often think about the old favourites. Some might think that these are all the stores have to offer but there is so much more than you can imagine. Searching through your favourite sites will help you find a great game for you and the family.

Strategy games have become very popular. They involve anything from building empires and nations to battling other opponents. There are many of these types of games available to stretch the brain muscles.

Should you be looking for a fantasy based game that revolves around story telling then you will not be at a loss. There are plenty of games which have you enter fantasy realms on epic quests. This will have you and the family enthralled for hours on end.

With such a variety from which to choose from, you do not have to worry that the small children in the family will not be able to play. You can find games that they can join in or ones that are especially made for them. Pay attention to the age restrictions on the games.

Some may be a bit higher priced while others are very cheap. The price range depends on many factors but some of the best ones can be purchased by the average person. Finding great deals is easy with the variety you have when it comes to these ones.

They have the ability to bring families together. They create memories of great times spent with people they love and there are so many exciting ones out there that there is literally something for everyone. Finding the right ones will have your family having fun in no time.

About the Author:

Looking to buy board games in New Zealand? Look no further than Seriously Board. They stock classic modern games like Settlers of Catan and Carcassonne, plus new titles like Civilisation and Forbidden Island.. Check here for free reprint license: The Latest And Best In Board Games.

The Settlers Of Catan Board Game

By Max Brown

The award winning board game Settlers of Catan is very popular. It can be purchased in over 30 different languages. 15 million copies have been sold and the website provides a good overview of the necessities to play or become familiar with.

They even have a blog section for players to talk about this game. This game came out in Germany in 1995 and was created by Klaus Teuber. It remains in a world of limited resources and intertwined fortunes. A great game that tries to solve the contemporary problems. It deals with imbalance, trade, nuclear proliferation, and climate changes.

It is a lot like Monopoly in that there are multiple players developing real estate. The people playing are living on natural resources but they have limited access to the resources. But you have to build the city using these resources and hope you can mine enough, if not then you have to trade with other people.

But when you trade an item with a player you might be giving them just what they need to finish their city. So the decision to trade or work out a different solution becomes the objective. The action is unbelievable because a persons decision affects the other people's game.

The game offer a lot of ways to win besides rolling the dice. It is often at the last minute before a winner is decided and offers hours of excitement and fun.

This games is made up of 19 hexagons and changes every time the game is played. In addition, thanks to the Internet this game has spread all over with millions playing it. While this board adventure is not readily known by all it is played more than most board games. Even the people in New Zealand like to play. Game makers everywhere have taken notice and are impressed with how much it is played.

About the Author:

For more information on Settlers of Catan, visit Seriously Board, New Zealand's biggest board games community, and a friendly stockist of games for everyone.. This article, The Settlers Of Catan Board Game is released under a creative commons attribution license.

How to Find New and Exciting Games

By Jessica Maylor

If you like games you are possibly loyal to the games you play games like Monopoly, chess, backgammon and Risk. Folks are typically not into finding out and finding out about new games but it'd be worth your time. First off, after a bit it can be uninteresting to play the same games repeatedly. Second , new games can suggest new challenges and new paths to think.

A game which is becoming quite trendy to play is the Settlers of Cattan. This combines the strategy of Risk with the dynamic nature of bingo. The aim of Settlers is to be the first to reach 10 points. One gains points for a number of different reasons and does so via the accumulation of resources. The resources come according to the roll of the dice; if you have that number in question than you receive the resource.

The game sort of snowballs as the more places you build, the more resources you are suitable for and so you may build more. The game is dynamic as the board changes ever single time. This implies you have to be flexible and adjust depending on how the board is. You can not always play the same way like you can in Monopoly. Also the average game lasts about forty five mins which is about the ideal time.

Recently, bingo has increased greatly in popularity. All of a sudden there are bingo contests everywhere and everyone seems to be having a bingo night at their house, but there are several other card and casino games which are easily as exciting. As an example, something similar to keno does not take a while to learn but is a lot of fun, particularly for female players who don't have a tendency to get into things as seriously as men have a tendency to.

In keno you've got to choose your numbers. The PC will then pick some from random. The more numbers you have matched up properly the more that you can win. One of the nice things about keno is that commonly there's a huge jackpot attached with the game so this suggests it can be quite moneymaking. If you'd like to get into the game you can learn more about it thru some of the free online keno games that are accessible.

While this is not a new game, many people do not know about mancala. This is a game of methodology and talent. It's a game which is millenia old and is in style with folk who travel thru Pacific Rim and South America. It's a complicated game and one that will take some time to get a grip on, but without doubt after you do it is worthwhile.

The same thing may be said for Perudo which is a game of dice. This is also a game with traditional origins. Perudo is a game of bluff and is a type of poker meets dice game. Folks like to play this game when they're drunk but you have to be careful as the stakes can get high so be on your toes.

About the Author:

Jessica Maylor, a freelance writer from London enjoys playing bingo online on sites like Posh Bingo. Jessica finds bingo to be a great escape from daily stress. She is often found writing reviews on game sites to help other find the best bingo promotions online.