Bid Dominoes, anyone??? Wanting to share a Shrum family tradition here and to learn more about the history of the game of Bid Dominoes. Hoping some of you will know and share more. This ol' Fort Valley mountain girl came westward to Woodstock and married into the Shrum family back in 1965. As a Shrum I had to learn a new family tradition---that of playing the game of Bid Dominoes, the way of the Shenandoah Valley, VA folks. As far as I know no one in Fort Valley played like this when I was growing up. My Fort Valley kin seemed to have little time for indoor games and we were the peace loving Brethren who kept pretty strict to our beliefs. It's hard to have peace when you're playing bid dominoes with the Shrums and their kin!!! This particular game seems to be indigenous to central Shenandoah County. Our son John traveled the world in the US Army and he found no one who knew about bid dominoes the way we play with a total of 28 points. Which ever team gets to 28 first wins the game. Here's a similar game I found online known as Texas 42, is a trick-taking game played with a standard set of double six dominoes. It was created in 1887 in Trappe Springs Texas, by 12-year-old William Thomas and 14-year-old Walter Earl, members of a strict conservative Southern Baptist sect who were forbidden to play cards. 42 is often referred to as the "national game of Texas," and continues to be very popular in much of the state - in and around College Station and Austin, in particular, as well as in the Fort Worth-Dallas area. Tournaments are held in many towns, and the State Championship tournament is held in Hallettsville the first Saturday of March each year. I found another similar game Shoot the Moon. This is more like we play it. In this game, no domino has a special value, and all tricks remain worth one point. If a team is denied the possibility of winning, or set, then they instead lose the amount they bid from their total. The game is played to 21 points, and the minimum bid is 4. The name of the game comes from "shooting the moon." If a player states during the bidding phase that they will shoot the moon, then they must catch all tricks. Doing so is worth 21 points. Failing to catch all 7 tricks results in a loss of 21 points. This is the highest possible bid, unless another player elects to "shoot it over" the player who is shooting the moon; this makes their own bid worth 42 points. There are no special contracts in this game. All I remember about playing with dominoes during my Fort Valley childhood was at my wonderful Grandstaff grandparents' house. What a loving family home!!! "Us kids" got the old tin out of the cabinet and scattered the dominoes on the living room floor. We stood them on end and watched them snake around the floor. Sometimes we connected them. Grandma Sue Grandstaff (nee Ritenour) was hopelessly devoted to her husband and family. Grandaddy Charlie was a cook on the Southern Railroad. I got my "rich" cooking from them, and my bad arthritis from Grandma Sue, or so mom always said. My older sister got the tin and dominoes. Goes to figure!!! Back to the Shenandoah County bid dominoes game. The ultimate goal here is to get a 28 hand. Players usually bid from 4-7, but will risk going 28 sometimes if they think their partner can help them win or if they have 28 dead. Doubles, trumps and skill are what helps you win. Bid dominoes is not a game where you connect the dominoes. It is similar to a card game where four players each have 7 dominoes and play with a partner. I don't play much anymore. Can't concentrate very well. The Shrums take their domino playing very seriously. They tell me that I play a "Sausage Head". Oh well, let the games go on and I will curl up with my dog and a good book. :o) Merry Christmas, Everyone Love and prayers, Nancy Grandstaff Shrum Woodstock, VA "Shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life......." Phil 2:15, 16 NIV