Hialeah Campus Students Set To Launch Dominoes Club

Christopher Rodriguez developed a love for dominoes when he was six years old. 

As a kid, he sat in his dad’s lap to watch his family’s matches. The speed of the game captivated him. 

“There was a quickness to it,” Rodriguez said. “You adapt the numbers in your head and it’s just precise.”

Now the 19-year-old is continuing to nurture his passion for the game at Miami Dade College as  

president of the soon-to-be launched Hialeah Dominoes Association.

“Our club is very specific,” Rodriguez said. “There [haven’t] been any other Hialeah Dominoes Associations; this is the first.” 

But dominoes at Hialeah Campus pre-dates the HDA which is expected to launch later this semester. Students started gathering informally in the cafeteria at least eight years ago to play.

“So many students joined [them], and even the faculty was joining them at that time and played with them,” said Jaime Bestard, a professor of algebra and statistics at Hialeah Campus who will serve as the club’s advisor. 

The group got more organized this semester when a student in Bestard’s algebra class brought his own dominoes set and they started improvising games in the courtyard near the cafe on campus. 

Soon people began flocking to the area. 

Currently, the club has recruited more than 15 members and although they have been playing sporadically, they plan to eventually meet weekly—either Wednesday or Thursday at noon—to face-off in matches. Games will be played one-on-one or in teams of two.

While there are different ways to play the game—the styles played in Cuba, Puerto Rico and Singapore vary in the amount of dominoes used, points tallied and the moves players are allowed to make—the essential objectives remain the same.

Players are armed with an equal amount of dominoes, which are rectangular-shaped tiles, that range in value from zero to nine depending on the number of dots on each piece. 

Multiple rounds are played with members taking turns placing tiles with values that match the dominoes on the table.

The goal of each round is to be the first party with no dominoes or with the least number of domino values. 

The losing parties’ leftover domino values are then tallied and credited to the winning party as points. Whoever reaches 100 points—or more, depending on the rules—wins the game.

But at its core, the sport is simple. And that is how HDA hopes to keep it. 

Eventually, they hope to play against a local firefighter group and collaborate with the salsa club to host an event on campus. They also want to raise funds to buy additional tables. 

“[Dominoes] has nothing to do with technology,” said Oscar Maya, who will serve as the club’s treasurer. “Right now we’re in an era where everything is technology-based. Everything is Nintendo, PlayStation. If you don’t have the newest console, you’re not up to date. That’s what I like about dominoes—it’s more about the culture. It’s more about getting to know people. It’s about gathering with the community.”

For more information or to join the club, contact Christopher Rodriguez at christo.rodriguez079@mymdc.net.

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