How is the game played in your part of the world? Same tiles? Same partners/scoring/strategy?

I know the Puerto Rican variant is the same as the Cuban, but played with a double 6 set instead of a double 9. (There are no "left-over" tiles after a shuffle.) And I've heard of double 12 and even double 16 versions in Mexico. The websites speak of all sorts of bizarre variations, where you can pick from the discard pile or play into the line, not just at the ends. There are dumping games, and there are blocking games.

What makes Cuban dominoes so subtle is that it is played with partners, like bridge, and it is a blocking game, so luck and skill play equal roles, as they do in backgammon. However, backgammon is not a team sport.

The game is old, I know it's played in the middle east, and I have no idea of how it's played there. Cubans say it was brought to Spain by the Moors. I'd be curious to know if there is archaeological evidence of it in ancient times. I know the Greeks played backgammon, and chess came from Persia or India via Arabia.

BTW, I forgot to mention: poker (La pokah) was popular in Cuba too. They must have picked it up from our baseball players.