The Tree

The Tree is a game for 1 to 4 players that is played with a Double-seven binary-coding dominoes.

Deal 9 tiles to each player (as in Dominoes) and keep the rest face-down (the supply).

The player with the lowest double tile places it on the table horizontally before her (if nobody has a double tile then the lowest ‘blank-any’ tile, or the lowest ‘one-any’ tile and so on). The tree will grow away from her, so leave enough room.

Definitions: the central pip and the small and big circles that form the symbols of the tiles are called ‘rings’. A tile placed ‘above’ means placed horizontally on the table, adjacent to at least one tile already placed, and in the direction of growth (no stacking).

From now on, and starting with the second player and playing in anticlockwise order, players take turns placing one tile from their hand so that:

a) It must be placed above a previously placed tile so that half of it touches half of the tile already placed (remember the definition of ‘above’).

b) The symbol above has exactly the same rings as the symbol below, plus one more.

c) If the other half of the tile also rests above a tile, the corresponding symbols must also obey rule ‘a’. In this case, play an extra turn.

d) If the placed tile has been ‘inserted’ inside a hole so that there are tiles above it, the corresponding symbols of the tiles above it must also obey rule ‘a’. In this case, play an extra turn.

If, at the beginning of your turn, you can’t make a valid move, draw a tile from the supply (if any) and pass your turn to the next player.

If, at the end of your turn, you’ve run out of tiles, then you win and the game ends; however, the other players can continue playing to determine 2nd, 3rd, and 4th place if they wish. If, at the end, a tree with all tiles has been built, please post a picture on boardgamegeek!

If the supply is empty and all players pass in succession, then nobody wins and you have to play again.