Thrift Treasure: Stack-Ominos
I thought I was familiar with nearly every version of dominoes. Whether it was just different-colored pieces, pieces with more than the standard 6 dots per side, triangular-shaped Tri-Ominos or the dusty version in every thrift store in America, Dora the Explorer dominoes.
But recently I came across a version by Pressman Toy called Stack-Ominos. I didn’t bother reading the instructions before purchase as I liked the design with its clear tiles and custom-molded play area. I just made sure all the pieces were there (they were) and paid the $1.88 asking price.
Supporting up to four players, each player works from a rack of tiles hidden from each other in the same was as when you play Scrabble. The object is to score points by creating stacks of tiles without placing a dot on top of an already existing dot.
You can play as many tiles in a turn as you wish, with a few rules to guide you. As I mentioned previously, the dots cannot stack, but you may turn or flip your tiles over to get them to fit. If you place two tiles in a stack with three dots each on it, score 6 points.
If the next player then adds an additional tile with two dots that don’t overlap, they score eight. You may only start one stack per turn, but if you are playing on other stacks you many continue to do so until you cannot move. Run out of tiles before your turn is over? Draw back up to your limit (determined by the number of players) and continue with your turn.
Once a stack receives all nine dots, it is scored and removed from the game. The player that completes that stack may then continue their turn by playing on another player’s stack or by starting a new stack of their own.
To win you must either be the first player to 200 points or have the highest score when all of the tiles have been drawn and one person runs out of tiles. Any tiles left in racks are deducted from that player’s total.
Stack-Ominos was originally issued in 1969 under the name “Hi-Spot” and later re-branded to its current title. It doesn’t appear to have been offered at retail for quite some time, but you can still find used copies on Amazon and eBay if it is missing from your collection. They are bringing a pretty penny, so if you’re budget-conscious you might wait until you find a copy at your local thrift store.
Interestingg game you’ve introduced to me ! Fun and brainy it seems. Shall check it out on stores.
Hello and nice to see again your game presentations! This one also looks to be challenging and interesting. Have a great week!
I’ve never seen this before! It looks like fun!
That definitely sounds like a challenging game. I’ll have to see if we can find one of these.
What a cool game and great to really get our brains engaged! I will have to see if I can find it on ebay without breaking the bank!
Every time I think I’ve seen the best of what you’re going to bring us, you surprise me. This looks like a great game for both fun and basic math skills. Thanks a lot!
We’re big fans of the game of dominoes here! I think we’d enjoy this!
Yep! I reminds me of a combination of dominos and that Scrabble offshoot that lets you build vertically on top of other words.
Man, I struggle enough with just regular dominoes! This looks like a fun and challenging game! it would be fun to try!
Looks like a fun game 🙂 Thanks for sharing this review!
Wow, I have never seen domino’s played like this before. I know someone who would love this way of playing.
This looks like a fun game. I like that it could even help teach simple addition in a fun way.
This sounds like a lot of fun. Now I wonder what my odds of winning are against my son. Hehe – I like to know that I have a good chance.
I’ve never heard of this game, but I love a good thrift shop find! My youngest still loves playing games so now I’m driven to check out our nearest GoodWill store!
wow, this looks like it could be a challenge. we love board games so i’ll have to see if i can find this in the store for our next game night.
Any way you could post the rules and instructions?
I bought this game at a thrift store too, but it didn’t have instructions. And the only image I can find is too small or too blurry to read.
Ours has been packed up for a while (we cover sooo many games, there’s not enough shelf room)!
I’m guessing you’re referring to that crappy photo on BGG. Here’s a tip that I use a lot – try eBay! Not for purchases, but many sellers have great hi-res photos as a part of their auctions. I found this one that is easy enough to read – eBay – Stack-Ominos
(you’ll have to click on the photo to make it larger)