Tri-ominoes

by kymyst

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Intro: Tri-ominoes

Tri-ominoes is a domino game using triangular pieces marked with sets of 3 numbers from 0 to 5. It was invented by Allan Cowan and marketed by Pressman Toy Corp. and others since 1967. It is still available commercially, but may be difficult to find in your local toy store.

STEP 1: Tile Set

A set of tri-omino tiles consists of 56 different tiles as shown in the image below :



The denominations of the tiles are as follows :

0-0-0 1-1-1 2-2-2 3-3-3 4-4-4 5-5-4

0-0-1 1-1-2 2-2-3 3-3-4 4-4-5 5-5-5

0-0-2 1-1-3 2-2-4 3-3-5

0-0-3 1-1-4 2-2-5 3-4-4

0-0-4 1-1-5 2-3-3 3-4-5

0-0-5 1-2-2 2-3-4 3-5-5

0-1-1 1-2-3 2-3-5

0-1-2 1-2-4 2-4-4

0-1-3 1-3-3 2-5-5

0-1-4 1-3-4

0-1-5 1-3-4

0-2-2 1-3-5

0-2-3 1-4-4

0-2-4 1-4-5

0-2-5 1-5-5

1-3-3

0-3-4

0-3-5

0-4-4

0-4-5

0-5-5

A full description of the game can be found at Triominoes - Wikipedia

STEP 2: Tile Patterns

A set of tri-omino tiles can be made from any available thin stiff sheet material, including cardboard, foam board, MDF board, etc. A set of 56 tiles with sides of length 1 ¾ inches ( 45 mm ) will require approximately 120 sq. inches ( 775 cm2 ).

Markings on the tiles can be applied by painting, woodburning or laser engraving, or simply by printing the tile patterns on paper and gluing the pattern onto the chosen substrate. PDF files for the tile patterns are attached below.

STEP 3: Playing Tri-ominoes


The basic idea of the game is similar to normal domino games, in that each player has to match the tile they are playing to one of the tiles already placed on the table. Games can be played for points which are scored for the value of the tile played plus bonuses, or else a game can be a simple race to use all of the tiles. A score sheet is shown above, and also in the file SCORE PAD.pdf below

Detailed rules can be found online at Classic Triangular Dominoes - Tri-Ominos Deluxe Game - Pressman Toy :Pressman Toy


When playing the game a rack for holding the tiles will be found convenient. These can be constructed from cardboard or similar material using the Rack.pdf pattern below.