Page 106 - Sun Rays May 2013

106 | SUNRAYS MAY 2013 ONLINE: SCTXCA.ORG
As one of the most social clubs
in Sun City Texas, the Domi-
noes & Table Games club offers
weekly games of all sorts for any and all
residents of Sun City Texas. Original
dominoes were made of ivory, bone or
a hardwood like ebony. The nicknames
for the pieces include: bones, cards, tiles,
tickets, stones or spinners. Dominoes
first showed up in Europe when Italian
explorers brought the game back from
China in the early 18th century. There
are quite a few variants of the game. The
types played in Sun City Texas are 42,
84, and Mexican Train.
Contrary to a belief I mistakenly held,
table games are not games played by
tables or played with tables (such as card
table juggling, or the end table toss, or,
my personal favorite, hurdle the sofa
table), but, rather, they are games played
at tables. These games include Hand and
Foot Canasta (must involve dexterity),
Banana Scrabble (sounds a-peeling), and
Liverpool Rummy (invented by Ringo
Starr, I assume). There are also such
games as Backgammon, Rummikub
and Euchre, and other games, such as
Cribbage, Pegs and Jokers, and Five
Hundred. All of these games and more
are described on the club’s website at
www.sctxca.org> Site Index > Dominoes
& Table Games.
The various table games offer something
for everyone. I joined the Cribbage games
last year and enjoyed playing and im-
proving my skills. Many of these games
require attention and focus. Most of us
need to exercise our brains as well as
our hearts. There is abundant evidence
that games and social interaction in-
crease our life spans. So why not take
advantage of this club? Dues are only $6
a year. Take the advice on their website,
previously listed. For the schedule of
game play, see page 110.
All in the Numbers:
Dominoes & Table Games
By Mike Gullickson
PHOTOS BY SHERRY MCRAE