Dominoes gaining in popularity

LONDON, March 7 (UPI) -- Dominoes, a game known since the Middle Ages, is making a comeback in the age of video and computer games, a British department store chain says.

John Lewis reported that sales of dominoes are up 20 percent compared to a year ago, The Telegraph reported, with boxes leaving the store at the rate of one every half hour.

Another game supplier, Club King, reports that demand has more than doubled in a year.

One big attraction of the game is its cheapness. John Lewis sells its house-brand domino sets for 4 pounds ($8) each, a pittance compared to the price of electronic playthings. The game also has some newfound glitz with high-stakes tournaments and reports that celebrities like Tom Cruise and David and Victoria Beckham are fans.

Hazel Reynolds, a John Lewis buyer, said there is another reason for the continued popularity of dominoes and other old-fashioned games like Scrabble. She says they embody "the idea of good, clean fun, with a whiff of nostalgia -- some classics just never date."