Playing dominoes in Curaçao, more than just a game

Four men playing dominoes at Otrobanda in Curaçao

Scattered over the island of Curaçao a trained eye will notice them: square tables, preferably under a tree, accompanied by four seats varying from actual chairs to stacked-up beer crates. Sometimes there will be shoes hanging from the tree. White shoes. Seemingly some artist’s statement but in reality indicating a score. These shoes represent the outcome of a game. A game of dominoes. And that is a big deal on Curaçao. Playing dominoes is about wits, guts and outsmart your opponents. Its about knowing your partner’s moves to the core and about the thrill of crushing the other party with a ‘sapatu’(shoe). A sapatu stands for a ten to nothing end score of a Domino game. A devastating outcome. Especially when there are also a few ‘changa’s’ involved. This is where the closing domino stone is a double matcher. An instant game killer leaving the losing party with a hand full of often doubles that will never make it to the table. Two points are rewarded for such a clever ending. A slap in the face, that’s what a changa is.
Domino players count, calculate, manipulate and try to distract each other. The latter not necessarily just with the game stones. There is daring eye contact, a blank bluff on the face. There is the slapping of stones on the table, the head shaking and the comments just to distract and confuse the other party. Anything to make the adversary loose count and therewith track of the domino stones still in the game. So wherever there is a game of Domino’s going on there is also loudness. A crowd will gather to experience the building-up of the  tension with an extra dimension as they can walk around and see what possibilities lay in the hand of the men playing. It’s a men’s game on Curaçao. A typical cultural pass time thing that Curaçaoans love to do. It’s a way of measuring strength and intellect on a few square inches just for the fun of it.
© Written by Elodie Heloise

Souvenirs T-shirts of shirts&words printed with Rilèks, Hopi Great or Dushi are available in Curaçao at:
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• Mon Art Souvenirshop // The Rif Fort

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Look for more pictures of playing dominoes in Curaçao

Playing dominoes in Curacao is certainly not just a game

Basic rules of playing dominoes
• All dominoes are shuffled or mixed face down to create a pile – bone yard – to draw from.
Each player should draw five of the dominoes to create his starting hand.
• The one placing the starting domino, is determined by possession of the highest double tile. While keeping their dominoes concealed, the players start asking if anyone has the double six. If someone does, he starts the game by setting the domino in the center of the table. After that, his turn is over and play then proceeds clockwise around the table.
• If no one has the double six, a call is made for the next lower double domino and so on. If no one has any doubles then all the dominoes are reshuffled and redrawn.
• On his turn a player must place a domino from his hand onto an open and matching end of the domino chain in play. A player must always play if he has a matching domino. Only if he has not, he draws a domino from the bone yard until he is able to play or until he has drawn three dominoes from the bone yard. If he is still unable to play he must pass.
• Dominoes are placed to form a corner when the matching domino end so as to turn the chain, preventing play from leaving the table or blocking off other ends of the domino chain. Doubles are placed crossways.
• The game ends when, either a player has played all dominoes from his hand; he wins the game, or the bone yard is empty and all players have consecutively passed. The player with the lowest number of points is considered the winner.