No Offs

Have you ever played the domino game 42?

Its a great game. If you like the card games of Spades or Hearts, you would love 42. Its all about bidding, catching tricks, or trying the set the other team's effort to make their bid.

42 is based on one point for every trick you catch (7) + the value of all the multiple of 5 dominoes you catch (3-2, 4-1, 5-0, 6-4, 5-5). If you catch all of those, the points add up to 35. So, 7 + 35 = 42.

In 42 sometimes you draw a hand that is a "lay down" hand. You have all the high trumps and the rest of the hand is doubles. There's no point in playing out the hand because you cannot be set. So, you just lay it down.

Lay down hands have "no offs." Offs are "weak" dominoes that you hope you can walk through on the last hand of the round.

If the logic of 42 escapes you, find one of your Aggie friends. They play 42 at the Dixie Chicken in College Station and keep score with chalk marks on the tables.

If the math of 42 escapes you, you may need remediation because even the Aggies get the math of 42.


I have been thinking for a while about albums in my collection that have no offs. You know how it is - you buy an album (yes an album is the correct term - even if its a CD or MP3 download. I know - I am old school.) You bought the album because there is a really good song or two, but the rest of album isn't so good ... it has lots of offs.

But every once in a while, you get an album that has no offs.

Here's my list of No Off Albums:

Guy Clark, Old Number One

Neil Young, Harvest

Leon Russell, Leon Russell

Elton John, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road

Goodbye Yellow Brick Road actually deserves extra credit. Its a double album with no offs. If Elton was playing 42 with that album he would have bid "two marks" or 84. And he would have made it because Goodbye Yellow Brick Road is a "lay down hand" that has "no offs."

So, what are your no off albums? I'd like to know.

But, there are rules to the game: Live albums and greatest hit compilations are not eligible for the list.

So, review the hand of albums you have and make your bids!