About Austin 42

Rules of Play

• Only bids (contracts) allowed are: bidding in a suit (blanks-6’s), bidding follow me or bidding doubles are trump.  We do not allow nello, sevens, plunge, splash, follow me when doubles are a suit of their own,  etc. 

• The shaker or last bidder must wait and draw his/her dominos last.   The other 3 players at the table may draw their dominos at random.  

• The bidder has the option to single or double stack on mark hands.

• League play will NOT be forced bid.   This means that you can pass the shake and no team will get a mark if all players pass around the table. 

• Any reneges (not following suit) will cost the team who commits the infraction 1 mark (or additional marks if the bid is higher than 42)  This includes leading out of turn when the player is not the one in lead.   You also cannot touch a domino, then set it down and grad another domino to play.  You MUST play the first domino you touch, even if it costs your team a renege. 

• When a domino is accidently knocked over:  The player must leave that domino faced up in front of their hand for everyone at the table to see.   They must play said domino at the first possible opportunity without reneging.   This also includes if they are the player in lead, they must lead out with the knocked over domino.  

• On bids of 42 or higher, no player is allowed to pick up and look underneath a played domino.  Once a domino is played, you cannot look to see the domino underneath the played domino.  You must use the power of memory to determine which dominos have already been played. 

• Dominos must be placed in a 4-3 or 3-4 format once you draw from the shake.   Once the bidding starts, you cannot rearrange your dominos for the rest of the hand.   This includes pushing your dominos together as the hand plays out.   

• Once the first domino has been played in a hand, you cannot ask what trump is.  Be sure that everyone at the table knows what trump is before the first domino is played.   Once a trick has been pulled you also cannot ask who played which domino. 

• Bidding out of turn.  If someone accidently bids out of turn, they cannot raise their own bid once the bidding restarts.  For example, let’s say the 2nd bidder thinks he is 1st to bid and bids 31.  The table informs him that he is not the 1st bidder, but the 2nd bidder.   Now, if the 1st true bidder goes 31, the 2nd bidder cannot bid higher than 31 and must pass.    This applies to anyone bidding out of turn.   

• Pausing during play.  If a player pauses to let their partner know they have more than one of a suit during play- that is considered a tell and cheating.   For example;  If the bidder calls blanks as trump and leads out with the double blank, and their partner takes a long time to play and plays a small blank and then later in the hand the partner has another blank (or more) that is telling the bidder their partner has more than 1 trump with them and they can use this information to their advantage.   

• Bidding with dominos faced down.   Players are not allowed to bid blind with their dominos faced down, all players must turn their dominos up facing them in a 4-3 o4 3-4 format before they bid.  

• Determining which player shakes first.  All four players will draw for who shakes first, the high domino at the table will get 1st shake.  If you are playing in a best 2 out of 3 game match, the losing team will draw between each other for who shakes first.  (this would only apply to the 2nd and 3rd games in a best 2 out of 3 match)   Simple way to put it- losing team always gets 1st shake. 

• During the bidding phase, you must only announce your bid without giving more information.  You should say “I pass” or “31” for example.   Not allowed would be to say “I got nothing over here partner, I pass.” Or “I’ll go 30, I think I can help you partner.”   Talking across the table is not allowed during play at any time, including the bidding phase of the hand. 

• Deliberate slow play by the team in the lead will not be allowed in timed games.  An example would be a team is leading 5-0 and the tournament director announces the timed round only has 2 minutes left.  The team with 5 marks deliberately plays extra slow to prevent the losing team to catch up.   (league play is not timed, so this rule doesn’t apply to league play)

• Declaring a law down.    The bidder can announce to the table that they have the rest of the tricks and will make their hand to save time.  However, if the opposing team can demonstrate anyway they can still go set, the bidding team will forfeit the hand and lose the mark.   A good example would be if the bidder has 2 big trumps and the double 5.  (let’s say trumps are aces).  The opponent has 1 small ace.   The partner is in lead and the bidder declares they have the rest and lays hand down.    The opponents can say the partner might have lead a 5 off, leading to the bidders double 5 and the opponent could trump the trick.     Be careful to make sure you truly have the rest of the tricks before you declare a laydown.   

• Any physical signals or cheating of any kind will not be tolerated.   Also, bids meaning specific information will not be tolerated.   An example would be if a team agrees that each and every time they bid 30, they always have the double 5.   Examples of physical signals could be taping dominos on table before being played, pointing dominos in certain directions intentionally as a strategy, encouraging your partner to bid or pass during the bidding cycle, etc.  

• Players not directly involved with a game may not make comments about the game at hand during play as observers.   If you are watching a game you cannot make comments, including calling reneges, commenting about bids or play.   

• The League Coordinator (along with the Austin42Club board) has the authority to rule on any match and also has the authority to ban a team from competing with just cause.   An example would be disqualifying a team from a match for cheating and/or egregious behavior deemed inappropriate for the league.  This can include fighting, threatening others, damaging property, stealing, etc.  

• Any questions during a game, please stop play and get the league coordinator or another board member to come to your table.  It is best to let one of us help to rule on a play in question.  If you are unsure of a rule or need better clarification, always go to one of us.