The Red Bulls

By day, the four members of Multi-national Security Transition Command-Iraq, help develop and equip the Iraqi Security Forces. But late at night, whenever they gather around the table and break out the bones, they have a chance to connect with their Iraqi coworkers over the friendly competition of an ancient game, a game where the loudest language spoken is the clickety-clack-clack of dominoes.
Dominoes is something of an Iraqi pastime, although less so among the younger generations, says Denzel, who has been playing for 30 years.

While many Americans tend to associate dominoes with “toppling” or “pizza,” in Iraq, and in many other countries in the world, the game is serious business. The game is often played in coffee shops all over Iraq, from Mosul to Baghdad to Basrah.
Hundreds of players from across the globe travelled to Russia for the World Domino Championship recently, and matches are often televised in Latin America.

Far from just a children’s game, dominoes is a game of skill requiring players to use the dominoes in their hand to create the most opportunities for yourself and eliminate possibilities for your opponents, while taking care not to unintentionally block their partner.
“This game is about two things: counting and guessing. Counting the dominoes on the table and guessing what your partner has,” said Denzel. “If you are doing well with this, you’re going to have something.”

Each player is involved in a race to match all of their tiles with those laid out, and by passing, they give the advantage to their opponents. If a player lays down all their tiles first, the value of every bone left in their opponents’ hands goes to the player and their partner, until one team scores 151 or higher.

After the shuffle, Carrick, a Bristow, Va., native and Saunders, a South Boston, Va., native raced out to a huge lead against Vandewalle, an Elburn, Ill., native and Denzel.

“Are you ready to hit the panic button?” Saunders says.

“Not yet,” says Denzel. “Just a few big hands and we’re back.”

Carrick and Saunders had ample reason for worry. Their first game of Iraqi dominoes ended in a huge comeback.

“We played Denzel and another interpreter,” said Carrick. “The first couple hands were kind of rough, because I didn’t understand the rules. I was thinking American dominoes, and once I figured it was counting dominoes and knowing there was only seven of every type, by the third hand we started winning, and we ended up wining the game overall.”

“It was a 118 to zero and we came back and won,” remembers Saunders.
After a spirited comeback, Vandewalle and Denzel soon found themselves on the brink of defeat.

“Can’t stop it,” Vandewalle says. “Either way they’ll go out.”

“That’s the life,” Denzel says. ”Maybe we’ll have a lead tomorrow.”
The final tile was laid, and then it was over. Watches were glanced at. It was late. Tomorrow the work of building relationships with the Iraqi people will continue, but that’s it for tonight, and once again the table stands empty.

By playing these night games, the four are able to connecting the dots on positive relationships between Americans and Iraqis, with each side learning from the other.

When she first started playing Iraqi-style dominoes, she had trouble understanding the rules, Carrick recalled. But, with help from Denzel, she was able to master and enjoy a game that is part of the Iraqi culture.

The next night, the four played a different game, and this time Denzel was the student. It is a cycle repeated across Iraq during this stage of the war: growth through symbiosis, and symbiosis through mutual respect.

“It makes me have a good relationship with the people I work with,” says Denzel. “We are living here like a big family.”