Domino Blackjack

Abstract

Domino wagering games are disclosed in which a player or players play the conventional game of blackjack with domino tiles instead of playing cards. The domino tiles can be dealt to the players by a dealer, or can be selected by the players themselves. Both land based and electronic formats of the domino blackjack games are provided.

1 . A method of playing a domino game involving at least one player and a dealer, the method comprising:
 receiving from each player a wager;   each player receiving one or more domino tiles;   the dealer receiving one or more domino tiles, one of which is displayed face-up;   each player having an option to take another domino tile;   the dealer having an option to take another domino tile when each player has chosen not to take another domino tile; and   comparing a value of the domino tiles in each player's hand with a value of the domino tiles in the dealer's hand.   
   
   
       2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein each player wins the domino game where the total value of the player's hand is closer to 21 than the total value of the dealer's hand, so long as the total value of the player's hand does not exceed 21 and is not equal to the total value of the dealer's hand. 
   
   
       3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein each player receives domino tiles by drawing them from a source of domino tiles. 
   
   
       4 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the source of domino tiles comprises domino tiles laying face down on a surface. 
   
   
       5 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the source of domino tiles comprises a virtual boneyard, and wherein selecting each domino comprises a user clicking on a domino tile in the virtual boneyard. 
   
   
       6 . The method of  claim 5 , further comprising dragging a domino that has been selected to a first zone, and dropping the domino into specified hand area. 
   
   
       7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the value of the player's hand comprises the total of the point values from one half of each domino tile in a player's hand. 
   
   
       8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the player is given the option to play multiple hands after receiving a single domino tile, wherein each of the multiple hands comprise the point value from one half of the single domino tile. 
   
   
       9 . A central gaming system for playing a domino game, the system comprising:
 one or more processing units and machine readable storage media comprising a set of instructions, said instructions including instructions for providing the central gaming system to perform the functions of, for each of the distributed gaming workstations:
 (a) providing a plurality of dominos, wherein a first portion of the dominos is distributed to a first player and a second portion of the dominos is distributed to a second player, and wherein the first portion of dominos is distributed to the player according to a process that comprises
 receiving from the first player a wager; 
 the first player receiving at least one domino; and 
 comparing a value associated with the first portion of dominos to a value associated with the second portion of dominos to determine the outcome of play, 
 
 (b) generating one or more datagrams containing data comprising the outcome of play, the outcome of play either being a winning result or not a winning result, and 
 (c) transmitting the one or more datagram to the gaming workstation whereby the workstation may display the outcome of play at the first level and the second level. 
   
   
   
       10 . The central gaming system of  claim 9 , wherein
 the distributed gaming workstations comprise general purpose computing devices communicating with the central gaming system via the Internet.   
   
   
       11 . The central gaming system of  claim 9 , wherein the distributed gaming systems comprise video gaming terminals. 
   
   
       12 . The central gaming system of  claim 9 , wherein the distributed gaming workstations are distributed in a gaming casino. 
   
   
       13 . The central gaming system of  claim 9 , wherein the plurality of dominos comprise virtual domino tiles that are displayed on a monitor. 
   
   
       14 . The central gaming system of  claim 9 , wherein the first player receiving at least one domino tile comprises the first player drawing the at least one domino tile out of a source of domino tiles. 
   
   
       15 . The central gaming system of  claim 9 , wherein the second player is a dealer and wherein the dealer carries out a portion of the process. 
   
   
       16 . The central gaming system of  claim 15 , further comprising the dealer receiving at least one domino. 
   
   
       17 . The central gaming system of  claim 15 , further comprising:
 if the value associated with second portion of dominos is greater than the value associated with the first portion of dominos without going over a threshold value, the dealer retaining the wager.   
   
   
       18 . The central gaming system of  claim 15 , further comprising:
 if the value associated with first portion of dominos is greater than the value associated with the second portion of dominos without going over a threshold value, the first player receiving a payoff.   
   
   
       19 . The central gaming system of  claim 15 , wherein the first player wins the domino game when the value associated with the first portion of dominos is closer to 21 than the value associated with the second portion of dominos, so long as the value associated with first portion of dominos does not exceed 21 and is not equal to the value associated with second portion of dominos. 
   
   
       20 . A game for play by a player and a dealer,
 wherein the game is played with domino tiles and the player and the dealer each receive a plurality of domino tiles,   wherein each domino tile is ascribed a point value or a playing card value depending on the number of dots on the domino tile, and   wherein the point value or playing card value of the domino tiles held by the player and the dealer are summed to determine a score for the player and the dealer, the outcome of the game determined, at least in part, by comparison of the score of the player and the score of the dealer.   
   
   
       21 . The game of  claim 20 , wherein the game comprises blackjack. 
   
   
       22 . The game of  claim 20 , wherein each player wins the domino game where the total value of the player's hand is closer to 21 than the total value of the dealer's hand, so long as the total value of the player's hand does not exceed 21 and is not equal to the total value of the dealer's hand. 
   
   
       23 . The game of  claim 20 , wherein each player receives domino tiles by drawing them from a source of domino tiles. 
   
   
       24 . The game of  claim 23 , wherein the source of domino tiles comprises domino tiles laying face down on a surface. 
   
   
       25 . The game of  claim 23 , wherein the source of domino tiles comprises a virtual boneyard, and wherein selecting each domino comprises a user clicking on a domino tile in the virtual boneyard. 
   
   
       26 . The game of  claim 25 , further comprising dragging a domino that has been selected to a first zone, and dropping the domino into a specified hand area. 
   
   
       27 . The game of  claim 20 , wherein the value of the player's hand comprises the total of the point values from one half of each domino tile in a player's hand. 
   
   
       28 . The game of  claim 20 , wherein the player is given the option to play multiple hands after receiving a single domino tile, wherein each of the multiple hands comprise the point value from one half of the single domino tile. 
   
   
       29 . The game of  claim 20 , wherein the game is played as a table game. 
   
   
       30 . The game of  claim 20 , wherein the game is played as a video game. 
   
   
       31 . The game of  claim 20 , wherein the game is played on an electronic gaming device. 
   
   
       32 . The game of  claim 31 , wherein the electronic gaming device is a personal computer. 
   
   
       33 . A machine readable storage medium comprising a set of instructions for execution by a gaming workstation having a display, the gaming workstation placed in communication with a gaming server over a network, the instructions comprising:
 (a) instructions for presenting on the display a wager game comprising domino tiles, a dealer, and at least one player;   (b) instructions for facilitating play by the player,
 play comprising a plurality of dominos, wherein a first portion of the dominos is distributed to a first player and a second portion of the dominos is distributed to a second player, and wherein the first portion of dominos is distributed to the player according to a process that comprises
 receiving from the first player a wager; 
 the first player receiving at least one domino; and 
 comparing a value associated with the first portion of dominos to a value associated with the second portion of dominos to determine the outcome of play; and 
 
   (c) instructions for the gaming server determining an outcome of play, the outcome of play either being a winning result or not a winning result.   
   
   
       34 . The machine readable storage medium of  claim 33 , wherein the gaming workstation comprises a general purpose computer. 
   
   
       35 . The machine readable storage medium of  claim 33 , wherein the gaming workstation comprises a video gaming terminal. 
   
   
       36 . The machine readable storage medium of  claim 33 , wherein the gaming workstation is installed in a casino.